


Dawn of The Dragons, a cookie run Ananas Dragon/reader fic

by PrincePurple



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: /reader fic, Drama, Dysfunctional Family, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Humiliation, Verbal Humiliation, ananas and pitaya are brothers, angsty, it all works out in the end, light humor, slight raunchiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 23,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24087574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincePurple/pseuds/PrincePurple
Summary: This is a story I made up out of my love for Ananas Dragon Cookie. It attempts to follow certain parts of canon/lore but does include my own headcanons. I tried to make everyone as IC as possible. No one was making fanfics for Ananas so I had to do it myself smh
Relationships: Ananas Dragon cookie/reader(Cookie Run)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	1. Islandbound

**Author's Note:**

> I use They/Them pronouns for Ananas and Pitaya throughout the story. The reader primarily uses female pronouns because I don’t think many males are into Ananas like that? Idk. Anyways just a heads up before going in okay? This is the product of my boredom so it will be cringe and stereotypical tropes will be prevalent and predictable.
> 
> Edit 19 February 2021: Story has been slightly updated so that the reader now uses gender neutral pronouns. Everything else stays the same.

You woke up from your cozy ocean bound nap upon your raft to find you had hit the shore of the magnificent pineapple isle. Legends told of a mysterious dragon that lived deep within the land, and you were determined to meet that dragon while you vacationed here. You quickly got up and ran around the island, making conversation with the locals before settling down at a juice bar and drinking some special 1000% juice. After some more discussion with the locals, you set out to look for this dragon of legend. You trekked up a mountain and begun digging, hopefully this would lead you straight to the dragons nest. You had only been digging for a minute before you fell into the deep cave, getting knocked out on the way down

You awoke to be face to face with a real dragon. Suddenly, this didn’t seem as cool. You started to scramble away as they breathed hot smoke into your face. You coughed and your eyes watered from the sheer intensity of it.  
“Mortal, how DARE you trespass my home. Such crimes are unforgivable. You shall be imprisoned...FOREVER.” They raised their wings and gave a powerful flap, creating a large cloud of dust. You cowered in a ball to protect whatever you could. When you uncovered yourself, a rather tall cookie stood towering over you. You drew yourself up to full height, and they sneered at you.  
“How disrespectful. A mortal in the presence of a dragon. Bow for me. NOW.”  
You quickly bent over halfway,whimpering. You heard them walk closer until you could feel the heat emitting off their golden armor. It made you sweat even more.  
They chuckled in response to your form. “Such prowess is respectable. But you still failed. Bow deeper mortal.” When you moved they kicked your shins, forcing you onto your knees.  
“I said DEEPER.”  
You were choking and sobbing out of fear for your life at this point, causing Ananas to get down on one knee, forcing your messy features to make contact with their black sclera and thin white pupils. You kept hiccuping mid sob, making you look far more pitiful than they thought you were. “Why are you crying mortal? In awe of the presence of a god?” You opened your mouth to respond and they shoved two of their very sharp claws in, threatening to cause serious damage. You drooled all over their claws, careful not to do anything that might leave lacerations. They twirled their claws around, messing with you. “You mortals are so cute...little helpless babies, really!” They laughed to theirself as you considered sniveling, pulling their fingers out at last. You spat as hard as you could, getting some on their armor. It sizzled away almost immediately as you tried to clean your face.  
Ananas grabbed you by the hem of your shirt and carried you to their throne, sitting you in their lap. You squirmed and tried to get out of this hellhole, biting down on their tail which made them hiss and release you. You took the opportunity to run and the dragon was soon tackling you, sending the both of you rolling. You squirmed under their grasp further, until they put their claws dangerously close to your face to draw strawberry jam. You calmed down a bit as you scanned their vacant eyes. They looked uncannily angry. “That is not how you play these games mortal.” They looked a bit hurt as they lightly pressed their claws into your face, pricking jam.  
“What’s your problem!” You screamed in response, writhing under their heat and weight. They licked the jam off their claws and your face.  
“Problem? I’m playing with you mortal. Isn’t this fun?”  
“It’s not fun I’m scared for my life! You dragons are always so rough..” you whined, bursting back into tears.  
Ananas licked the tears off your face as they fell. It felt like sandpaper but it sure was comforting for a bit. Eventually your body relaxed under their grip and they got off you.  
“There. Feel better mortal?”  
You closed your eyes and shook your head no as you stood upright.  
Ananas sighed. “Fine. I apologize for torturing you. I suppose mortals have feelings as well.”  
You turned to look at them fully. They weren’t a bad dragon, they were just so isolated like all the other dragons. Maybe they needed a real friend  
You embraced them, feeling the warmth of their armor embrace you back. They quickly pulled away, feigning a cough.  
“It seems we’ve made up mort- uhh…”  
“It’s-“  
“Mortal. If you ever tell anyone about what you’ve seen and done today, I will force you to be my servant and have your head on a platter before you can even think twice about it.”  
You smiled and stood on your tippy toes to give them a way too long goodbye kiss before running off at top speed. They swooped you up, returning a more passionate kiss. “Allow me to personally see you off mortal.” They flew you out of the mountain, spiraling upwards before rushing forward, causing waves to ripple in their large dragon wake. Somehow they had reverted back to dragon form, and you gripped their spikes gently as they flew you back down to the most private corner of the island.  
“ I guess this is goodbye mortal.” They spoke, reverting back to cookie form as they landed. You landed upon the sand softly, holding onto ananas’ waist. They clung to each other without saying anything more  
“I don’t want to go.” You finally spoke up, tears starting to form.  
They gave you a gentle kiss before getting you into a proper boat, raising their staff to calm the waters surrounding their island.  
“Goodbye my mortal. May we meet again under nicer circumstances.”


	2. Return to the Isles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You just couldn’t keep yourself away from the yellow dragon of legends, could you? Let’s see how that turns out, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s k*ssing in this chapter so 😳 you know

...“Goodbye my mortal. May we meet again under nicer circumstances.”

It wasn’t long before you found yourself out of the small boat, deep in the waters paddling back to this island, risking becoming soggy but Ananas had already begun their flight back to their mountain.  
You tripped onto the island, running as fast as you could just to meet that dragon who looked so lowly upon you. As you stopped to catch your breath, the shadow of a dragon cast over you, and in an instant it was gone. This wasn’t Ananas and yet it was headed towards their cave. With newfound breath, you ran even harder, scaling the steep mountain hoping you could find out anything.  
Sweaty and out of breath, you collapsed at the top of the mountain, pulling yourself over so you could see through the hole you created earlier. A red dragon and Ananas stood facing each other. They seemed to be arguing about something, so you tried to carefully drop into the mountain. You grabbed onto several ledges after dropping a couple of feet, trying to remain quiet. The red dragon turned their gaze up at you in the middle of Ananas’ rant. They smirked and blew a gust of fire at you, causing you to scream and fall the remaining 3 or so feet.  
“Pitaya you miserable insult to dragon kind! How dare you ruin my home mid…”  
Ananas turned around to make eye contact with your fragile form. “Mortal? You were supposed to leave.”  
Pitaya snickered. “Oh, you’re familiar with thisss mortal dear sibling? And yet I’m the pathetic one.”  
Ananas growled at them before turning their gaze back to you.  
“I’m s-sorry I just missed you..your majesty.” You got on your knees and bowed to them again.  
Pitaya laughed once more. “Oh dear, the lesser dragon got the mortal to fall for them. How amusssing. Tell me, dear sibling...”  
Pitaya walked past Ananas “What torturoussss methodsss did you usssse to messss with thissss poor helplessss mortal?”  
They helped you to your feet, locking eyes with you. Holy millennial tree, the red dragon of legends just helped you up. Their eyes had an unspoken kindness to them that blew you away.  
“None of your business you cookiekind associating disgrace. Hands off my mortal.”  
“What are you going to do dear sibling? Hurt me if I don’t?” They sneered, bowing to you. You curtsied back and they drew himself up to their full height.  
“You carry the ssscent of dragonsss upon you. It sseemssss you’re already accussstomed to our play habits. And yet you are alive.”  
You flushed nervously, averting your gaze to the watchful eyes of ananas. “Y-yes your majesty.”  
“Don’t call me that. Sssimply call me Pitaya.”  
Ananas scooped you up and pulled you to their throne, forcing you to sit. “Wait here mortal. We’ll talk when I’m done.”  
They quickly flew off in their half dragon form to attack Pitaya, who was expecting it and countered accordingly. You sat back, gripping the throne and watching the two dragons go at each other with hatred in their eyes. Mid fight you could have sworn Pitaya winked at you. Gosh, who knew the red dragon could be so cocky? You waved back politely, which Ananas noticed and growled at you for. Pitaya only snickered as they attacked Ananas with great gusto. Ananas countered with enough force to knock Pitaya’s flight off balance, and pineapplemur zoomed into your lap for safety. You stroked the little creature as the two dragons fought it out, finally coming to a close as Pitaya almost got hit by one of the rocks from their siblings geomancy.  
“Oohhohoho! Looks like the lesser dragon’sss gotten much better at their powersss! What fun it will be to continue these playfightssss.” They steadied their flight and returned to the ground, approaching you with a wide toothy grin on their face. Your eyes dashed to Ananas, who glared at you with a ‘please do not interact with them’ expression.  
“Well then, it wassss nice to meet you, mortal. Sssorry for trying to kill you earlier. Had I known you had sssparred with dragons before, I would have been lessss hossstile with you. I’d love to play with a mortal sssuch assss yourssself sometime, if you’d permit.” They held out a heavily armored hand towards you, which you shook graciously. They took the opportunity to lean in closer  
“And ssshould little sibling ever cause you any trouble, do know that I frequent these islandssss.” Ananas looked angrier by the minute, so Pitaya stepped back and stretched out their wings.  
“Well now, I’ll be going. Sssee you ssssoon, weakling and mortal!” And with that, they were gone, and pineapplemur scurried away.  
You suddenly felt very nervous and drew your legs together, placing your hands in your lap. These next few words were gonna hurt.  
Ananas was already in front of you and forced you to look at them.  
“Why did you come back.” They stated. No questions, as if they already knew. You didn’t respond at all and focused your gaze on something distant.  
“Why. Did you. Return.” They stated more harshly, gripping you by the cheeks lightly so you made eye contact with them, but could break free if you chose to. Their gaze was mesmerizing, you could truly get lost in their gorgeous eyes for hours, but it’d be wise to snap back now.  
“I..I missed you, your maje-“  
“The real reason.”  
“I-I’m in love with you, your majesty.” You winced, as their harsh eyes never stopped boring straight into your soul. It was as if they were reading you.  
“A mortal falling head over heels for a god? Interesting.”  
They let go of your face softly and moved their face closer to yours so that your lips were almost touching.  
“Though, many do find me charming.. If you want my adoration, you’ll have to beg.”  
They scooped you out of the throne and carried you to their nest, pinning you down.  
“How badly do you want me mortal?”  
“Really badly..”you whispered, almost breathless.  
“Ah ah ah, not enough.” They reinforced their grip. “How badly do you want me?”  
“I n-need you Ananas..you’re everything to me.”  
“Everything huh? And we just met. You mortals are soooo needy.” They said, kissing you feverently as you wrapped your shaking legs around their torso. They stuck their forked tongue deeply into your mouth, causing a moan to escape. They bit your tongue softly, making you squirm underneath their tight grip.  
They pulled away after a while, allowing you to breathe.  
“Mmm, still unaccustomed to the way dragons play? You know how rough we can get.” They smirked, licking away any blood that may have came as a result of their biting.  
You lay there, hungry for more of their affection as you pulled them down rabidly using your legs.  
“More..” you whispered, your voice hitching in your throat.  
“Oh sweet desperate mortal, what do we say if we want more?”  
“Please master, I need more of your affection.”  
“That’s more like it, darling.”  
They forced their forked tongue even deeper this time, wrestling with yours for dominance, not even letting go when you showed signs of losing breath. After a few aggressive minutes of tongue wrestling, they pulled away again, leaving you breathless.  
“Didn’t know a mortal could keep up with a god like me. Interesting.”  
They wiped any juices from your mouth and sucked them up as you released your grip on them.  
“You-You called me darlinggg..” you claimed happily.  
Ananas smirked down at your form.  
“Let’s say it was aaa...slip of the tongue.” They chuckled, rising back up.  
“Now get up mortal. If you’re so hopelessly in love with me I suppose there’s other matters to go through now.”  
“Like marriage?”  
“Dragons don’t believe in matrimony. Grow up, or don’t. I suppose you don’t have much of a choice now, do you? Mortal and all.”  
They paused in thought before bending over halfway and taking both of your hands in one of theirs.  
“Would you like to become dragonkind? There’s much to be done for that to happen, but you could live, and love with me for many more years...”


	3. A New Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rather passionate session with the yellow dragon of legends, you’re invited to become dragonkind! Eh, what does that even entail?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //TW: themes of death and violence. I try to keep them brief and not as descriptive though

You nodded without second thought. Ananas echoed your nod slowly, scooping you up once more and bringing you to the dragon’s valley and placing you on a stone plateau that kept your small form warm.  
“We must wait for the other dragons. Please do not be afraid of what will happen next.”  
You wanted to ask them what they meant, but Pitaya joined soon enough, followed by the other dragons, who you couldn’t quite make out besides their colors.  
Pitaya looked ill. “You convinced a mortal to do thissss? How sssick of you, honestly. They're very much healthy and well.”  
You started feeling nervous, but before you knew it vines were already circling your wrists and legs, holding you down.  
“Dear sibling, it’s not like that. Now mortal, focus on me.” Ananas stated commandingly, stroking your face softly. You melted into their touch, closing your eyes as you got more relaxed. Ananas became slightly antsy as Pitaya drew their draconic blade with remorse.  
“Eh, actually keep them closed mortal. No matter what you feel, don’t open your eyes.” You opened your mouth to question it but Ananas silenced you by putting a clawed hand over your mouth.  
The other 3 dragons shed their disguises and transformed into their cookie forms, each spreading their wings fully to create a sort of field to keep the ritual as secretive as possible.  
Ananas could have sworn they’d seen Pitaya shed a tear as they plunged the blade into the mortals tiny form. Oh man it was a mess, the blood spilling everywhere. A very agonizing muffled scream escaped its form, and it certainly fought against it all but never opened its eyes.  
Ananas smiled down grimly at your loyalty, removing their blood covered hand from your mouth. The blade had since been removed and all that was left was to complete your transformation. Ananas prepared a golden scale to catch your escaping life force, which was quite speedy. Had they missed you you would’ve had to be a bead, or worse, actually dead. They all waited silently as Ananas held the scale in their hand carefully and Pitaya cleaned you off their blade.  
The scale glowed with your life newly inhabiting it, and Ananas smiled down softly at it.  
“Hello,er mortal...ex mortal? I do hope you’re not too mad at me.”  
The scale heated up enough to make Ananas fumble with it but not drop it  
“You know I adore you darling. I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for your own good!”  
The other dragons had since made their escape, leaving Pitaya with you two, or three if you counted corpses.  
“Adoring something? I never would have guesssssed. And a mortal nonethelessss.”  
“Do not disrespect a dragon like that. How very much rude of you.”  
“Don’t you think it’sss time they were reborn? I’d prefer to know if I wasss resssponsssible for sssslaughter or not.”  
Ananas smiled lightly.  
“A noble dragon shouldn’t be concerned with slaughter. But I suppose it is time anyways. Accompany me.” They clutched the scale and flew off without so much as a headstart.  
Once back on pineapple isle, they dropped the scale in some shallow water, and Pitaya stood by watching quietly. Not long after, it shined as bright as gold and your rather short cookie dragon form emerged. Your scales were almost the same illustrious gold hue that Ananas possessed. You had white and yellow hair that spiked out like Ananas, and yet it was all your own.  
“What..are you?” Ananas asked, squinting  
“Naked. Get thisss dragon sssome armor.” Pitaya said, pulling your trembling form along.  
“I’ll do it mysssself. I bet you don’t know how to make proper armor, simpleton.” Before they could answer, Pitaya flew off to the Armorer, holding your soft scaled form snugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things just took a dark turn for a second, didn’t they?  
> Hey, no one said becoming dragonkind would be painless. I know this chapter is much shorter, btw, I just really don’t like this one for how badly it’s written but I had to get it in sjsjs


	4. Rebuilding Bridges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Pitaya get some much needed time together and form a sibling bond.

The two of you touched down outside of the fallen kingdom in a short enough amount of time.  
“Carambola huh? Interessssting fruit choice.” They said, setting you down on your legs where you stumbled from the weight of your wings. You almost fell over had Pitaya not been directly in front of you  
“Ahaha, right, thissss is more than what you’re used to?” They placed their hands on your shoulders to steady you, and you slightly recoiled from their touch.  
They frowned a bit, it was as if you knew what had happened to you, but quickly smiled, flicking out their forked tongue  
“Ah, don’t worry. You’re in good handssss. I’m the legendary red dragon, remember?” They said, stepping back and flexing their wings proudly.  
“I know..it’sss jussst now I’m very nervousss if Ananas wasss willing to do that..”  
Pitaya embraced you quickly, almost crushing you with their brute strength. “Ohhh how amazing! You’ve developed my accent tickssss rather than theirsss..sssorry, it’sss just been ssssooo long sssince another dragon could ssspeak like me.”  
They let you go gently before continuing  
“Anywaysss. I’m sssure they only wanted the besssst for you. They’re jussst awful at thinking ahead. Now letsss get you some armor.”  
Pitaya didn’t look directly at you as they had the Armorer come over for measurements, but they did help in lifting your tail up, something likely responsible for 40% of your increased weight.  
“All right, I should have you armored up in a jiffy! Just wait here.”  
You finally collapsed to the floor and Pitaya was immediately rushing towards you.  
“I’m fine! Jussst really tired, I need to sssit.” You claimed, pulling your legs in a criss cross.  
Pitaya joined you, sitting down next to you while taking in all of your features. You caught them staring and looked awkwardly away.  
“Ssssorry Carambola. You just remind me sssooo much of a little ssssibling, or sssomething.”  
“I guesss technically I am your little sibling? If thatssss how dragonssss work.”  
“Nahhh. Not at all. But I’ll call you little sib anywaysss.”  
You smiled at them and flexed your wings eagerly.  
“Well, little sib could use some flight lessonsss? If that’ssss okay with you.”  
The armorer returned with a perfectly sized set for you.  
“Sssure. Let’ssss get ssssuited up firssst.”  
And with that you were soon coated in an armor to make even Ananas jealous.  
“How do I look, big sib?”  
“Ugly.” They hissed jokingly as you two walked into a fresh open field.  
You pushed them aside. “A real classss act. Now teach me how to fly!”  
Pitaya spent the next 2 hours just getting you to float 3 feet off the ground without feeling fear.  
“Think you can go higher? I’ll be here to catch you.”  
You nodded eagerly and returned to the ground, crouching before boosting off an impressive 7 feet up and flying higher and higher in a circle . Pitaya joined you happily, and you engaged in a game of tag to be comfortable with the speed and accuracy of dragon form. You eventually got high enough everything on the ground was specks and you hovered in place.  
“Pitaya? Don’t you think it’ssss funny Ananasss hasssnt come for usss yet? It’s getting quite dark.”  
“Why come when I’ve been watching the whole time?”  
They said sternly, appearing from nowhere.  
“Sssorry for having fun your majesssty.” Pitaya mocked, crossing their arms.  
“Whatever. We should be getting back. I’ve got many important matters to discuss with you, mort- Carambola.”  
You looked at them in fear as Pitaya rubbed your shoulder  
“It’ll be fine. Jussst go. I’ll ssssee you later, lil sib.”


	5. Adoration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader seeks answers for what truly happened during their transformation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It gets kinda graphic doe, and not in terms of violence.

And with that Pitaya flew off, leaving you and Ananas to witness the red green fire trail they left  
Ananas grabbed your wrist slightly which you recoiled at, and they noticed. They seemed a bit hurt and let go.  
“Never mind. Just follow me.”  
And so the two of you were back inside the pineapple mountain, and they were on you, furiously peppering your face with little kisses.  
“Ananassss...ssstop. Talk to me firssst. What happened?”  
“I simply exchanged your mortal form for a new one.”  
“Well why did it hurt s-ssso much? And why are you guyssss so weird around me? A-and..” you were sobbing and hiccuping now, tears streaming down your face heavily. No response from Ananas.  
“W-why did it hurt s-ssso bad? I d-didn’t do anything to you to dessserve that.. Why did you l-let that happen to me?”  
“I didn’t-“  
“M-my blood issss ss-ss-still on your clawssss! You k-killed me Ananassss..” your wings raised in hurt and defense.  
“Darling..it wasn’t I who killed you. I wish not for your suffering.”  
“Then w-why did you let it happen? You let yourssself, your comforting presssence be the last thing I ssssaw.”  
“Like I said it was for your own good!” They shouted angrily, their features getting messy as their own tears started falling. They’d never cried but they couldn’t bear to see the object of their adoration in despair.  
“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t love you, okay?! Is that what you want me to say?! I’m madly in love with you and I always have been since you first dared to trespass my cave! I wanted a way to preserve you, cherish you for so many more years..”  
They took in a deep breath for a pause and continued, wiping away their own tears while looking down on you.  
“It hurt me to see you like that. It really did. And I’m sorry it happened. But I can’t change you back.”  
Their shoulders and wings drooped, their proud form dissolving in an instant. You just gripped their midsection and cried harder, you could feel something inside you fizzling the harder you cried. Ananas cried too, but they weren’t as vocal about it. When they went to stroke your head, a strong jolt of electricity bolted through their hand. It was enough to make them jump in surprise.  
Your tearful sobbing face turned up at them  
“W-what isss it now..”  
Ananas shook their head. “Nothing. I suppose I should explain everything.” They said, as you let go slowly.  
“I didn’t kill you. Pitaya did.”  
“W-what? They would nev-“  
“Never break the code of rituals. The reason it hurt is because you had one of the strongest draconic weapons driven almost completely through your body.”  
“W-what are you saying..”  
“I’m saying Pitaya is responsible. If you’d like we can visit your corpse once again. Don’t take blame on them, though. Clearly they love you like family and would’ve done anything to preserve you, like me. Albeit, not as fatal.”  
You started crying once more, this time the fizzling feeling registered as an electromagnetic field around you, causing stuff to shake and vibrate out of place as it drew towards you.  
“Carambola stop! You’re letting your emotions control your powers.”  
You calmed down enough to let Ananas embrace you on the floor as everything dropped around you.  
“I adore you darling. I really, really do. I’d give up my islands and it’s waters to see you happy.”  
They planted more kisses on your face and stroked your hair until you seemed happier  
“Should I stop?”  
You giggled “No, more please?”  
They smirked and delivered, giving every inch of your face some much needed love.  
It was all bittersweet until they pinned you down again, gently licking away any leftover tears or just giving little hickeys on noticeable parts to leave their ‘dragon’s mark’. Not that it was necessary, considering their scent was so strong any dragon who messed with you was asking for a fight.  
“Ananasss..I’m ready.” You said, opening your sharptoothed mouth for their hostile tongue.  
Without hesitation they rammed it in there, fighting for dominance with your tongue once more. It felt just like old times, but better now that you could keep up with them. You two tongue wrestled for a good thirty minutes, and boy did it get messy this time. They wrapped their tongue around yours and sucked relentlessly until you squirmed and yelped underneath them.  
“That enough adoration for you darling? Or do you want more?”  
“M-more your majesty. Please! I’d do anything for even another second of your adoration!”  
“How about being quiet?” They asked before messily making out with you once more, your legs wrapped around their body, shaking. They placed theirself very closely so you could feel the heat emanating off your two forms. This continued for about 4 more hours until you were breathless and the sun came up.  
“Looks like I win again darling.” They said, putting their body completely against yours before whispering in your ear  
“Ten to none. Really? Not a single win even when you were fighting your very hardest for your tongue to overtake mine? I thought my darling lover would be competition but you’re oh so very submissive, aren’t you?”  
You trembled in bliss, nodding your head to their every question.  
“Oh millennial tree you’re adorable.” They stroked your cheek softly until you loosened from around them and fell into a deep sleep. They gave your cheek a quick kiss before dashing out to meet Pitaya. It was earlier enough that they could walk about and fly without caution so any mortals wouldn’t encounter them.  
Luckily enough Pitaya already seemed to be on their way to the islands, strolling the beaches.  
“Ah, you. Where’s lil sib?”  
“Little sibling?”  
“Ah, what I call Carambola.”  
“They’re sleeping at home. Don’t even think to bother them.”  
“You’d know a thing or two about bothering ssssomeone, now wouldn’t you?” Pitaya hissed mockingly  
“Anywaysss. How’d they take it? You didn’t hurt them, did you?”  
“I told them everything they wanted to know and they cried for an hour. Discovered they harnesses electromagnetic energy. Fantastic, really.”  
“You made lil sib cry? I’d expect nothing more from a cruel dragon like you.”  
“I made it up to them with nonstop adoration, don’t worry.” They snickered  
“Grossss. No one wantssss to hear about what you do in your alone time...though I supposssse it can’t be helped when you’ve been sssooo lonely all thessseee yearssss to protect your dwindling senssse of pride.” They spat out the latter half snidely, smirking at Ananas as they did.  
“Better to have pride left to dwindle dear sibling.” Ananas snarled at them, their good mood quickly dissipating.  
“Don’t act ssso high and mighty! You went out of your way to presssserve a ‘mere mortal’ becaussse you’re in love. I wonder what liesss you told yourssself to keep your ‘pride’ intact.” Pitaya snickered the last part to theirself to keep Ananas from getting angrier.  
“As if you would not have done the same. All life is precious to you now, no? Or are you that same old red dragon who wreaked havoc across kingdoms and got twisted in mortal affairs?”  
“I can be both, Ananassss.”  
“Oh, if only you’d prove that. But enough chatter. I came to you to discuss matters civilly.”  
“Well what’ssss on your mind?”  
“It’s concerning the world now that dragons such as ourselves are roaming free again. We can’t stay hidden forever..As much as I love Carambola, they're very nosy. What if there are others like that? They can’t all be turned into dragons. I’d hate to contaminate our proud line with mortal blood.”  
“You sssay that assss if Carambola issss any different than the mortalsss you consssstantly degrade.”  
“Yes,yes of course I know that. Regardless, they're a dragon such as you and I now. And yet, they aren’t ready to see what we really are.”  
“Oh, I doubt they’d adapt well to being forced to desssstroy and kill like us? Their mortal sssoul, while in a dragon’ssss body issss assss pure asss the morning dew.”  
“Precisely. I wouldn’t want the other dragons to shun them. They didn’t shun you solely because of your reputation but..” They paused to look at the blood on their claws. How long had that stayed there? No matter, it’d be cleaned off the second they had the chance. They turned back to Pitaya. “..What reputation do they have? None suitable for a dragon worthy of my own scales. I know they wouldn’t kill.”  
“Well what are you going to do about it? Itsss not like they’d lassst long acting like usss anyways. They’d be dead within a week.”  
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” Ananas frowned, turning towards the direction of the rising sun.  
“And so should they be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably tone down on the extra s’s 😳


	6. Pride and Indignation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More angst and drama between the dragons, and just when things were starting to slowly look up.

You awoke from your much needed rest , stretching out your wings fully before rising out of the nest. Ananas was nowhere to be found, not to your surprise. You couldn’t resist calling out to them anyways.

“A-Ananasss?” You called out, silently cursing yourself for the neediness in your voice. Oh Millennial Tree, they were right. Not like you could help it though, hell, you didn’t exactly know your way around this place.  
No response from Ananas anyways. Why not get familiar? You poked around the many subcaves that seemed to host various rooms throughout their, er, palace? Living quarters? Are dragons even considered royalty? They are legends after all. Lost in thought, you didn’t notice pineapplemur bump into you and yelped.

“Oh goodness, it’s just you. Hello cutie.” You scooped up Ananas’ pet, and in an instant your heart longed for them. You quickly cleared that though from your mind while stroking the small lemur. “I suppose you’re hungry? I wonder what time it is..” you pondered, walking into the kitchen and shaking some pet food into a bowl. Pineapplemur quickly jumped down and began eating it with much less than grace. Maybe you could go out on your own? Being pulled along only to sit out on whatever tasks the two deemed necessary was totally boring. Besides, some sunlight and fresh air would be nice.

You stepped outside the cave, and immediately squinted due to the awfully glaring sunlight. And was it always this humid out? How did Ananas live like this?  
No matter. It didn’t mean you had to live like that. You got a good running start and took to the skies. It felt so good to be able to move freely, all on your own! The afternoon sun warmed you up nicely. You took in the sights below you of kingdoms and cities lined up so nicely. If you had known the view was that good, you would’ve tried to become a dragon sooner. You turned over and tried flying backwards for a bit, which wasn’t as hard as it looked. Eventually, you could feel your wings getting tired as you glided down to a relatively empty grove, which just so happened to be gloomy winded cove. The dazzling blue waters shined on you, and you didn’t notice the twisted trees spiraling up and closing off the light. You stared at your reflection in awe. How had you never seen this place before? You reached out to touch it and it grabbed you by the wrists, causing you to jump back in surprise. The ‘reflection’ quickly disappeared after that and you sat there in pure shock. “I was going to tell you not to touch that, but you seemed too lost in your own thoughts. Better to let you explore this worlds many wonders by yourself.” A deeper voice spoke from behind you. You looked behind yourself to see two formidable figures standing side by side. One had tree branches sprouting from its head and the other held a bow and arrow at the ready. “O-Oh my millennial tree! It c-can’t be!” You remained on the ground in awe, staring up at them. “Yes, I am the Millennial Tree of legends. And you are? Forgive me, you simply don’t seem familiar.” “I uh..uhm. My oh my. Well..” you sputtered, unable to find any words to describe yourself. He finally noticed your draconian features. “Oh! It seems another dragon has awakened. This is going much faster than I thought. Wind archer, do my eyes deceive me?” Wind archer shook his head no but kept his eyes on you and weapon at the ready. “M-Make no mistake sir! I’m not truly one of the dragonssss. I simply possess this form. I used to be a sssimple everyday being.”

You stared up at the tree god long enough for him to formulate a response.  
“Your aura certainly seems different. May I ask what brings you to this cove?”  
“I ssimply wanted to get out and explore the lands. I’ve been essentially stuck at the dragon isles for a while and I missed much of the outside world.” You said, finally pulling yourself off the ground. How could you even think to call yourself dragonkind when you still acted like this with beings almost equal to your power?

“Dragon isles? They’re unearthed?” Millennial Tree asked, wringing his hands together waiting for your response.  
“I suppose they’ve been that way for a while now? Um, at least they’ve been open long enough for me to visssit..”  
Wind Archer’s expression grew more tense and you could feel the air becoming clammier the longer you stayed.  
“I think I should go. It wasss wrong of me to passs through here and I believe I’ve overstayed my welcome.”  
“Ah, but of course.” Millennial answered, his nature becoming just as calm as when you first met in a few seconds. “I’ll have to escort you out. The fairies here work tricky magic to make it almost impossible to escape.” And without another word, Millennial, with Wind Archer in tow escorted you out. By now, the sun was setting so you figured it’d be best to fly back to the pineapple isles.  
But flight was boring, wasn’t it? You haven’t properly used your legs in a while, have you? The second you were safely on the sands of the pineapple isles, you drew your wings closed and strolled onto the beach. The wet sands felt refreshing to you and you giggled as you had the opportunity to play around. Who knew a day out could be so fun? You began to walk back to the cave, suddenly becoming very nervous as you were almost seen by one of the island residents. Luckily they didn’t question it further and you decided it’d be safer to just fly the rest of the way. So you flew for about a minute and were soon entering the cave entrance, not expecting such a sight.  
“Ananas!” You called out cheerfully. “I’m h..ome..”  
Ananas was facing you sitting rather dramatically, stroking their pet dramatically. They immediately started quizzing you out of left field.  
“Where were you? Why were you gone for so long? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you hurt? Did anyone see you? Why did I search the isles for you for hours and not once did you appear to me? Do you know how late it is?”

Being bombarded with questions like you were a little kid was certainly annoying, so you chose to answer as rudely as possible.  
“A ‘hello darling, how was your day?’ would’ve been nice. To answer your questions, why does it matter to you,Who cares, you weren’t here,what makes you think that, so what if someone did, andddd...Hold on, the last two share an answer.. who the hell cares? I’m not a damned kid, you know.” You huffed at them, face turning red from anger.  
Ananas set pineapplemur down and approached you. You kept up your unbothered facade, but deep down your very soul was quaking. When they were finally face to face and looking down on you, that was enough to make your facade falter for just a second and you cast your eyes downward. They slowly backed you into a wall, where you totally dropped the act.  
“My oh my, someone’s got a bit of a temper now, don’t they? How **DISRESPECTFUL.** “ They cupped your face in their clawed hand rather tightly, actually forcing you to stare into their eyes this time. And they didn’t look as warm and inviting. No, these eyes looked cold, unforgiving and aggressive. You gulped in fear as they continued to stare you down, but attempted to hold your ground still.  
“I-It’sss not fair Ananassss! I can’t go out and do what I want and you can?” You whimpered, and they only chuckled.  
“Darling..Where do I begin..Ah! Does it look like I _care_ about what’s fair or not? That’s right! Didn’t think so.”  
“B-but I’m just as much of a dragon asss you and Pitaya! I ssshould have some fre-“  
They gripped your face even tighter, causing you to yelp as you felt the claws digging in. That was certainly going to leave an imprint in the morning.  
“SILENCE. You’re still very much mortal at your core. How out of line for you to do this...everything I do for you and you can’t even return the most basic respect. Have you no _pride?_ ” They asked lifting you up off the ground slightly, causing you to start having trouble breathing. Ananas noticed and slowly returned your smaller form to the ground, letting go and causing you to cough and gasp for breath. A rare sign of mercy, and yet very appreciated.  
But they weren’t done there. “On your knees. Now.” They commanded, and you complied not wanting to invoke their wrath further.  
“Disrespectful little dragons must endure punishment.” They began as soon as you were on your knees, examining their claws. Fresh blood was heavily coating them. You looked up at him with fear. That blood certainly wasn’t theirs or yours. What had they done? Was this legend a cold blooded killer as many had described them? You closed your eyes to try and focus, calming your rapidly beating heart. The second you opened them and took in a shaky breath, they shoved them in your mouth.  
“They’re dirty. Now suck.”  
You looked at them with a pleading expression and they only pinched your tongue in response. “Clean them off. **NOW.** “ They shouted, and you started tearing up as you began the task. This wasn’t the Ananas you knew and loved, was it?  
They continued looking down on you in their bastardly ways.  
“Not good enough. I want to hear you choking. Don’t be afraid to get messy, either. Show me what happens when you choose to be disrespectful to the noblest of dragonkind.”

You started gagging the more you were forced to taste, saliva starting to drip out. When you finally stopped, Ananas withdrew their claws and admired your work.  
“Oh my, almost as good as new. I respect your prowess, dear. I think we could get it cleaner though.”  
“W-wha?” You coughed out, but were cut off by Ananas thrusting their claws in and out of your mouth rapidly as you sucked to the best of your abilities.  
“Ah ah ah! More choking darling, or we’ll have to start again, from the very top. I’m sure you don’t like the taste of blood much either?” This caused you to gag, much to the majesty’s delight. You continued until they finally pulled them out, giving a rather long examination as you shivered and coughed on the ground.  
“Now they look brand new. I ought to use you as my personal armor polisher from now on, don’t you think?

You started to draw yourself back up, but Ananas patted your head and forced you to sit back down gently.  
“That’s enough darling. Don’t _ever_ let that happen again. I’m sure I can think of far worse punishments.” And with that, they cackled and strolled out of the room casually.


	7. Composure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The noblest of dragons must learn to control their emotions no matter the cost. Luckily you've got someone willing to show you the ropes, right?

You awoke the next morning to once again, find yourself in bed without your lover. As much as you'd like to go out today, maybe it'd be better to wait until Ananas came back. You decided to sit in the kitchen, hands politely folded over each other, posture straight as can be. Something you'd never do, but yesterday's 'conversation' about pride seemed to have conditioned it into you. However you couldn't stay in this place until Ananas got back. Who knew when that would happen? Suddenly you remembered that Pitaya might be around, and maybe they could keep you company? You decided to only slightly disobey Ananas by sticking near home but still flying around in search of Pitaya.

You settled down on one of the plateaus jutting out from the mountains, bringing your knees up to your chest and folding your arms over them. No sign of the greenish red dragon anywhere, oh my. “Ssso much for ‘I frequent thessse islesss’..” you hissed to yourself.  
Pitaya swooped in from behind you, taking you by surprise. “Aww, doubting my wordsss? How devassstating.” They pouted mockingly, laying theirself in your lap dramatically. “Oh woe isss me! Jussst when I thought I had found someone I could trussst. How cruel of you.”  
You slapped them in the face playfully and they snarled.  
“Don’t be ssso dramatic.” You teased them, trying to push their weight off you.”You’re crussshing my legsss.” “Sssorry your majesty, but I don’t care, much like how you don’t care for me.” They continued dramatically. “Would you care if I invited you inside for something to drink? I could usssse some company.” You asked, hoping to get them off of you. “I sssuppose that’ll do. Lead the way, little one.” They joked, finally getting off of your legs. You both gathered around a table in Ananas’ kitchen as you poured both of yourselves a glass of lemonade. “Careful now, don’t ssspill it.” Pitaya joked, trying to bump into you. “Sstop acting like a child!” You disapproved mockingly, setting the pitcher back down as the two of you conversed for hours.

You eyed the condensation forming on your glass vs the lemonade that boiled slightly in Pitaya’s glass from the heat radiating off of their hands. Talk about getting fired up.  
“You’re lying. There’s no way in hell you were face to face with Millennial Tree.” They said, shaking their head side to side.  
“But I wasss! I legit ssaw them and he had Wind Archer with him and everything!” You said, slamming your hands on the table.  
“A dragon meeting with a god? And living? I’ll believe it when I sssee it lil sib. You sure the watersss weren’t playing mind gamesss with you?” Pitaya patted your head softly and you swiped at their arm, only making the dragon laugh in the process.  
“He was real I really did see him! He asked if I was a real dragon and I said no, but that they were already awake..”  
You paused to notice Pitaya’s expression grow eerily quizzical  
“What else did you jusssst so happen to tell him?”  
The lemonade in the glass started boiling out rapidly. Oh man, choose your next words real carefully.  
“That the dragon islesss were unearthed and dragonss were um..making a comeback.” You raised your arm up lightly should you need to defend yourself. Pitaya’s glass was now empty and little cracks were appearing in the superheated glass.  
“Anything elsssse you might want to ssshare? I promissse I can handle it.” They remarked through narrowed eyes and gritted teeth.  
“I suppose I uhm...maybe mentioned that I was able to make the journey here pre dragon form.”  
Pitaya closed their eyes and growled lowly, very obviously on edge.  
“We don’t tell our enemiesssss...where we live right? Pretty ssssimple rule to abide by, right?”  
You quickly nodded. “Y-yea I believe ssso.”  
“We don’t _tell_ gods of this very world that thossse who lay wassste to it are coming back right?”  
Another nod.  
“ **SSSSO!** I’m sssssure you have a very good reason as to why in the Tropical Sssoda Archipelago you did **_EXACTLY THAT._** ” They finished, the glass finally exploding everywhere under the pressure. You ducked under the table for cover but your face was unfortunately slightly cut by the hot shard. Blood very quickly started to dribble out and you re-emerged to face a Pitaya who had their eyes closed and smoke coming out their nostrils.  
“Ssssorry. I lossst my compo- oh dear. I didn’t mean to do that, you know.”  
You sighed and shrugged resignedly. “It’ssss jussst a ssscrape. It’ll fix itself, unlike this glass everywhere.”  
“I’ll clean it up. You go ssssit down and we can discuss thisss a bit more later.” Pitaya announced, the edge still very much in their voice. You agreed and navigated your way into the throne room, small amounts of blood still dribbling down your face. You gently wiped it off and sat in Ananas’ throne, getting an almost immediate feel of power. You could see where they got their overly inflated ego from now.

Pitaya joined you as stared them down judgmentally. They shook their head and began pacing back and forth likely to prepare theirself for whatever you would say next.  
“Alright. Out with it already. I’d like to assesssss the damage and plan accordingly.”  
And so you detailed your entire encounter, stopping to see how Pitaya was handling it as well as leave room for questions. They looked considerably less on edge and more deep in thought.  
“I ssssee. And I’m the only one you’ve told thissss to?”  
“Well, I did intend to tell Ananasss but...” you wringed your hands together nervously, remembering last night. A repeat of such events would surely ensue if you were to enlighten them, and yet letting Pitaya tell them seemed ill advised for the both of you.  
“But what? Thissss isn’t time for gamesss, you know.”  
“Thingsss just..fell through. But! I will tell them, just give me a chance, pleasse?” You got out of the throne and invaded their personal space, making puppy-dog eyes at the dragon.  
Pitaya scowled and covered your face with their hand. “Grosss. What the hell is that? Ssstop it.”  
You pushed their hand out the way.  
“So isss that a yes? You’ll let me do the talking when I get the chance?” You asked, a desperate look in your eyes.  
“Fine. Don’t ssscrew thisss up further got it? I trust you lil sib.” They said, ruffling your hair.  
“You can count on me Pitaya.” You said with as much confidence as you could muster. Pitaya rolled their eyes once more.  
“Riiight. Anywaysss, it’s getting late. I should probably go before your majessssty makes their grand reappearance.”  
You looked at them confused. “Huh? It’s still bright out what are you sssaying?”  
“I know their sseemingly sssporadic flight patterns. Been around much longer than you, kiddo. I know when I’m not welcome.” They said, ruffling your hair further. You swiped at them angrily. “Ssstop it you nuisance!”  
Pitaya grabbed you in a strong lock and gave you a relentless noogie, much to your displeasure.  
“What’ssss the little dragon gonna do about it huh?” They laughed as you squirmed and tried to break free. The second you managed to, you attacked Pitaya as the two of you horsed around, wrestling each other and just play fighting in general.

Unfortunately the fun game to a close when Ananas came in while Pitaya had you in a headlock.  
“And what might this be?”  
“Jusssst two dragonssss playing.” They said as you tapped the ground twice to be let go.  
They eyed Pitaya up and down carefully. “How barbaric..and you,” they said, fixing their gaze on you,  
“How pathetic. I honestly expected more from someone who harbors 1/16th of my strength.”  
You rolled your eyes as soon as you were able to breathe again. Yep, it was definitely that throne that gave people such a high ego


	8. Composure (Pt. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dragons lessons in keeping your cool when things go awry. And trust me, they go awry fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS LIKE THE 4th TIME I HAD TO REWRITE THIS CHAPTER BC IT KEPT DELETING THE DRAFTS AS WELL AS PART OF THE LAST CHAPTER I HATE AO3  
> With that being said, enjoy! Apologies for not updating sooner

Ananas stared down at the two of you intensely, sharply eyeing Pitaya for a bit before softening their gaze only slightly at you. You slightly opened your mouth to speak, but Ananas swooped down to your level, kneeling as they squished your face. “Oh, mon chéri, what happened to your face? It’s wounded! You didn’t leave the house did you?” The dragon fawned over you dramatically, obviously to the chagrin of the red dragon, who was now leaning against the wall with their arms crossed. 

A flurry of emotions swirled through your stomach far too fast for you to understand, of course the golden eyed dragon directly in your face didn’t help much either. “T-thisss? Um, don’t be mad but it’sss sorta Pitaya’sss fault, but don’t worry! It’s just a scrape, it’ll be fine! It’ll heal really fast don’t be upset really it’sss no big deal...” you trailed off as Ananas stood up, clutching their staff as they looked at Pitaya who just shrugged smugly. “Don’t be mad, Ananassss. Best not to even waste your energy on me, hmm?”   
  
Ananas exhaled calmly and thought for a second. “Well then, sounds like you two ought to learn composure, taught by yours truly.” Pitaya’s eyes narrowed as they directed their gaze to the golden-scaled dragon. “And what exactly issss your ssstupid, overly confident self getting at?” “Nothing but a few lessons, dear sibling~” Ananas said smugly, poking Pitaya in the face as they sauntered past, heading towards the cave entrance. “Just follow me, both of you.” They said, before flying out. You and Pitaya stared at each other before following suit.

The three of you found yourselves in a large clearing somewhere in one of the islands thickest forests. The beaming sun and tolerable humidity put you in a jovial mood, and you spun around happily as you all walked towards the center. Pitaya’s frown lightened up as they laughed a little at you. “And what would you two be so happy for?” Ananas questioned without looking.   
  
“Oh, the sssun feels sssso good on my scalesss! Thanks for bringing us out here!” You giggled, hugging the golden dragon tightly. They pried your tiny form off of them, smiling slightly. “Yes, but that’s not what we’re here for, remember? We’re here so you can learn how to control yourself.”

Ananas forced the two of you to take a seat as the boisterous dragon paced throughout the field, giving the most tedious lesson you’ve probably heard like, ever. Your eyes glazed over and when they finally turned around, you looked at Pitaya who seemed halfway asleep with butterflies landing all over them. Without hesitation or control, you tackled the red dragon, rolling into a bush. “Agh! What the hell, you idiot! Why’d you do that?” “I’m sorry! I couldn’t control it, it’ssss just been so long since I’ve had any fun or activity.” Within seconds, Ananas had retrieved both of you from the bush, holding you by your tail and Pitaya by their hair, which was now ornately decorated with twigs and bristles. “Letting your dragon instincts control you. Interesting. That’s why you really should learn composure, don’t you think?” Pitaya sighed and shrugged resignedly. “Doesn’t matter what we think, you’ll just force us to do what you want anyways.”   
  
“Damn right I will. I hope you paid enough attention, though, because now I’ll test you on your ability to remain level-headed.” They said, dropping you both on your tails. You cried out lightly before springing back up. Pitaya stood up and walked a fair distance away wordlessly.

”Ouch! Ananasss! What the hell wasss that for?” You shouted, balling your fists angrily. “Quite the temper. Alright then, show me what you can do.” The golden dragon stated flatly, stepping back and waiting for your actions. “What? I’m not even really mad! It jussst threw me off guard.” “Then _get mad_. I don’t have all day, you know.” “I can’t just get mad. Do sssomething!” Ananas thought for a moment. “How about I insult you? That’s sure to spur on some kind of reaction.” You nodded and braced yourself for the golden dragon’s harsh words. However, nothing could prepare your for the sheer, harsh, vitriolic words that would fall out of their mouth with such inconceivable ease. “Well to start, its rather pitiful that you’d even think of yourself to be a dragon after the weakness you’ve continually displayed. Every day you continue to disappoint me, and I’d rather have killed you as a mortal so your presence wouldn’t be such a burden on my life. Ever since you’ve been here, it’s as if a new issue arises every week. You’re lower than the very sands on my island, in the sense I actually grace them with my touch.   
You’re a plague on dragonkind and I do hope something happens to you so I’d never have to see your miserable, disgraceful face ever again.” They finished, eyeing you carefully. You know they didn’t mean all that. Or, at least some right? So why did you feel like crying? This wasn’t even real, you dumb baby! Get angry like they said. You took in a shaky breath and pushed all those negative emotions and thoughts deep down before making direct eye contact with Ananas. Quick, think of a witty clap back! “I’m appalled to hear you even think that lowly of me, dear! Such low quality insults can only come from such a low quality mind.” You retorted smugly, hoping that your uncertainty didn’t shine through.   
  
Ananas simply smiled and held you close. “How lovely, you seem to be taking after me.” After a few seconds, the dragon let you go, before you ran to Pitaya. “Big sib! Did you see that! Didn’t I handle it well? Didn’t I didn’t I didn’t I?” You pushed yourself onto them, beaming up at their face. They covered your face with your hand in response, which you immediately tried to pull off. “Sure you did, I dunno.” “Why can’t you jusssst be proud of me? Are you jealousss or something?” You said after you finally got their claws off of you. Their glare hardened as they stared down at you. “Jealoussss? Jealoussss of what? Of the fact that thissss issss an unbelievably unhealthy thing to do and you’re jusssst blindly listening to it all? Are you sssstupid?”

”I’m the god damn red dragon of legendssss, get that in your head little kid. Can’t you see Ananassss is manipulating you? Thesssse are manipulative tacticsss! Open your damn EYESSSS.” You stepped back angrily, turning to Ananas. “Isss thissss true?” Ananas smirked and looked at Pitaya, then back to you. “Why would you believe a lower dragon? You’re much better than that, dear.” They said, placing their hands on your shoulders. “Why would I ever expose my darling to anything unhealthy? I never wished to harm you.” They said, soothingly. “Ssstop manipulating them.” Pitaya hissed angrily, spreading their wings.   
  
“They can _think_ for theirself. Don’t coddle them.” Ananas chuckled lightly, releasing their grip and returning to where they stood before. “So go on, make your choice.” You suddenly felt very nervous. You didn’t think you’d be picking sides in a feud, but here you were between a rock and a hard place. Or, hot place? This is between a geomancer and a pyromancer after all. But now’s not the time for silly thoughts. “Lil sib, you can’t actually believe thissss clown!” Pitaya exclaimed, pointing at Ananas. “Clown?! Mind your manners you ill-tempered thembo.” Ananas hissed back. You waited for them to stop before joining Ananas. Pitaya exhaled smoke in response “I’m sorry PD but-“   
  
Pitaya cut you off before you could explain. “Don’t try to reasssson with me. I tried to warn you, but I see where your loyaltiessss lie.” They turned around and prepared to take off. You turned around to face Ananas with a somber expression playing across your features. The golden dragon stroked your face in reassurance, at least until Pitaya had one more thing to say. “Oh, and since I know where your loyalties lie, I guess I can expect you to tell Ananas exactly what you told Millennial Tree. About us, dragons I mean.” A wave of silence passed by before they got ready to take off again.   
  
“I’m sure your emotion bottling will help you out of this one.” They said, before flying out of the clearing fast, leaving nothing but a scorching fiery red and green trail in their wake. Ananas didn’t look so happy now that you were this close. God damn it, Pitaya. Something cold blooded occupied the dragons vision as they continued to stroke your face, albeit a bit harsher. You almost flinched at the feeling, but stayed perfectly still for your own good. “Right then, you’ve got some explaining to do, don’t you?” They asked, harshly. You gulped and nodded. “Good, good. Don’t leave anything out.” They added, dragging one of their claws over the old scrape. Great, just great. Best to be honest now, right?


	9. You’ve Got Some Elucidating To Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another one on one with Ananas baby!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey dis kinda bload up 😳 uhhh I didn’t expect that but thanks for the support so far! You guys make me want to continue this everyday

The flight home had been terribly silent, and it seemed like Ananas was deeply mad at you. Not checking to see if you were okay when you had to clear difficult sections that demanded the utmost wing control, speeding up whenever you seemed a little tired or asked them to hold on. Why were they even being so difficult? You can’t just demand answers then run away when they could be given to you. Thoughts raced through your mind at light speed as you tried to formulate things in a way that wouldn’t make the dragon so angry, but then you came to a stop, in both flight and in your head as you remembered they specifically wanted the truth. You gave it to Pitaya, why lie to your lover?

Ananas stopped half a second later. Oh, so _now_ they chose to stop for you, huh? You stared down at the ground completely frozen. You could’ve sworn you heard people talking down there, you sure as hell saw light. It looked like a small group was having a swell time down there and you just wanted to join in. Ananas, reading your thoughts waited until you looked and shook their head no before gesturing towards the palace. You rolled your eyes and followed them back home, that feeling burning inside you all the way. Once you two arrived back, they flew into the throne room, sitting down. You followed suit, placing your feet on the floor, waiting for Ananas to completely settle in.

“Alright, speak. Don’t leave anything out.” You steadily paced back and forth as you spilled everything, from the second you woke up to just a few hours ago, when Pitaya was still with you. Surprisingly, when you were done, Ananas looked more scared than pissed. You’d never seen them look like that and it made you feel just as scared. When they noticed you, though, that expression was quickly replaced with a frown, which didn’t ease you in the slightest. “Alright, alright okay. So that’s why you were so hesitant the first time I presume? At least you told Pitaya, oh Pitaya...Anyways, I’ll have to come up with something, this is really bad..er, not like that, I have a plan don’t worry! Ugh, no I don’t, damn it all...” They groaned, placing a hand over their face and slouching into the throne as Pineapplemur joined Ananas, being stroked absentmindedly. A little jealous and wanting to lighten the mood, you sunk into their lap as well. Ananas smiled grimly and patted you on the head.

“You’re seriously a mess of the worst caliber, my dear. I didn’t exactly sign up to take care of another child again and yet you make it seem like I did...” they trailed off, chuckling to themselves. “Huh? Again, you mean you..? You’ve got some explaining to do!” You pouted in mock anger. “Oh, I suppose I should _elucidate_ on that.” They said, matter of factly, their expression going from smug to soft.

“You’d find out anyways, the way things are going right now. So, a real long time ago, definitely before you were first born for sure, we dragons used to roam the world-” Ananas began before you cut them off. “I know that part alread-” “ **DON’T** interrupt me...Where was I? Right, we ruled these lands, the original dragons did at least. I was but a little dragon, a bit older than Pitaya.” Ananas stared up at the ceiling as they continued, stroking your hair softly as Pineapplemur scurried out of their lap, letting you occupy it fully.

“And our families had really strong ties, both ruling over kingdoms so close to each other, it was inevitable we’d become allies or die fighting over land disputes, heh.” They paused again, their smile slowly fading. “Anyways, Pitaya and I were almost like siblings, seeing each other everyday, coming to each other’s parties and events. If Pitaya was there, so was I trying to keep the little guy out of trouble.” Ananas sighed.

“And then, out of nowhere something...happened to them. Everyone, really. It wasn’t just a dragons valley thing. No, those filthy cookies...” Ananas trailed off, pulling your hair a little harshly, making you wince, but to no avail. “..Those cookies took it upon themselves to get rid of us. Pitaya’s parents..They uh... Well I found their dad amidst everything and he just told me to take the little guy and hide. So I did..a-and uh. Hmm, sorry, I’m getting too emotional here.” Ananas paused, breathing shakily, their trembling hands relaxing the grip on your hair. You sighed in relief, taking one of their hands in your own. “Thank you, darling. Right, where was I....I had to essentially raise Pitaya while everything went down. Ah, we could return eventually, when Pitaya was old enough and everything seemed calm. During that time I tried to instill all my anger and hatred towards cookiekind into them, and it seemed like it worked, we were growing so close...And then..” Ananas paused again, for no actual reason other to gaze into your eyes.

“We came back to everything just grouped and being rebuilt. I was the oldest there, and I offered to lead them all. I promised them glory and vengeance for what they’ve done to us...And they chose Pitaya. I mean good for them, don’t get me wrong, the kingdom never belonged to me in the first place..But I knew something would go wrong, nevertheless I stayed and shadowed over in case I was needed.” “As the days waned on deep down I felt resent. I mean, how couldn’t I? Snuffed out because..It’s obvious isn’t it? Whatever, that was in the past. I continued to watch them grow and become a great leader..Until they started preaching about how cookies weren’t that bad, that if we gave them a chance, it’d all work out. That night we had a falling out, they told me to just leave and well that brings us here today. Everyone’s all divided up now as a result, and sometimes I can’t tell if Pitaya still has that same view..” They finished, stroking your face gently. “I do hope that clears everything up.”

You groggily nodded as Ananas quickly carried you off to bed. “Yeah, just one question...” You yawned as they tucked you in. “What happened to Pitaya’s parentsss exactly? You were so vague, and even I know they were such strong dragonsss...” you yawned again, eyes closing. “You’d have to ask them. It’s very personal, even I don’t know.” Ananas answered, kissing you before heading towards the door. “Ananasss? Just one more question... What about your parentssss? What happened to them?” You murmured before falling asleep. Ananas waited until they heard your steady breathing to answer. “That’s a story you’re not _ready_ to hear yet, darling.” They said, casting their golden eyes on you which seemed to glow in the dark room. “And I don’t think you ever _will_ be. Goodnight, my dear. Sweet dreams.” They laughed to themselves, closing the door as they exited.


	10. In The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little night flying never hurt anyone, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahagadh I mean ✌️😳 update time you know

You lazily looked around at your surroundings as your vision came to. The first thing you noticed is that you weren’t in the dark room Ananas put you in yesterday. Well, _you_ thought it was yesterday. It could’ve been mere minutes ago or even seconds. Who needs to tell time anyways? There’s more things to worry about than just some silly time, you thought to yourself as you took it all in. Everything was a delicate pastel pink or blue to the point where it started to blend together.

“I’m uh...I’m dreaming.” You stated the obvious to yourself, looking at your hands as if that’d do anything. You proceeded to walk around for a bit until you heard someone calling you from above. The voice was deafening, causing you to hold both sides of your head tightly.

“Who the HELL is talking to me? HELLO?” You shouted back, slowly removing your hands from your head. “Oh? That wasss too loud, ssssorry. How about I _whisssper for you?_ ” The voice responded playfully. “Pitaya? Pitaya I’m so ssorry, I didn’t mean for everything to explode like that back there, if anything blame Ananasss-“ You were cut off by a laugh.

“I see my impression is good enough, hmmm? Though, I do find you wanting to pin _alllll_ the blame on me ever so disheartening, darling.” Ananas said jokingly.

“Very funny, Ananasss. Do you wanna sign the divorce papers now or when I wake up?”

You pouted, crossing your arms. Ananas scoffed from wherever they were “That implies we’d have to get married first, and I’d rather not marry someone who’s been filled with malcontent towards me since _day one_.” They uttered unsparingly.

You wanted to say something back, but bit your tongue instead. It’s not as if Ananas was lying, no, it was the opposite honestly. You two hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms lately but it was getting better, right? You glanced down at your feet in silence until Ananas cleared their throat.

“Anyways..I just wanted to see how you were doing. It’s been a while.” They said softly, a bit of a laugh to their voice. 

“It’s been like 3 minutes? How’d you even get in here?” You questioned. “It’s been 3 hours.” Ananas corrected. “Well, maybe let me do my own thing?” You said back, agitated. “I am! You just totally imagined this yourself. Now wake up silly.” They laughed before snapping their fingers.

Without missing a beat, you were sitting up, awake. Ananas was lying asleep in bed with you, as if nothing happened. You shook your head and stepped outside the palace, breathing in the decently cool, humid island night air. A slight breeze kicked up and rustled your hair. It felt like a good night to go flying, you thought as you spread your wings fully and took off. Pale moonlight illuminated the ground below as the sea’s waves crashed roughly against the islands shores. It was strangely calming, just having nowhere to go, no one bothering you at all. And yet, it felt so lonely. It’s not like anyone would be out anyways, it was 2 A.M. Even the late nighters were fast asleep or in their homes doing who knows what. 

Enough is enough, you thought to yourself, as you perched on a rock and gazed at the expansive sea. It was time to take a stand for yourself, no longer letting some oh-so powerful dragon dictate what you can and can’t do. You’d show them you were as worthy a dragon as any. You nosedived downwards, falling into a flight on course towards the gloomy winded cove again. You could handle the whole situation you caused, no problem at all. Ananas would be so proud of you, they’d have no choice but to let you finally in on everything!

You certainly weren’t stupid by any standards. You could tell Ananas was holding back telling you certain things. Why be so hesitant? Why prevent you from doing certain things? You’d find out soon, you thought as you glided down to the cove. Immediately you set out to search for Millennial Tree and that weird archer guy. Luckily you ran into Millennial Tree not too deep into the forest, and when you began to approach him, vines snaked around your ankles and wrists, holding you in place. You struggled to get free as Millenial Tree turned and faced you with a somber expression playing across his features. 

“Certainly not the catch I expected this evening,” he began, sitting down cross legged. “But a welcome one nonetheless. Why don’t you have a seat? Im sure there’s much we can discuss right now.” He finished, relaxing the vines on your ankles but not the ones on your wrists. You sunk to the ground, making eye contact with him. 

“Let me go, please.” You hissed lowly, feeling a fizzling deep inside of you. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You have good intentions, I know. But I simply can’t let you go for either of our safeties.” Millennial Tree responded calmly. You growled as the feeling intensified until it manifested as little electric sparks. “That’s one reason why I can’t. Calm yourself, or I’ll have to take matters into my own hands. And I’d really rather not, you know?” Millennial Tree warned. The electricity manifested fully and shocked the vines, frying them completely as they fell off. Newer, stronger ones immediately replaced them, binding both hands behind you. You suddenly felt very weak, like your powers were being siphoned out of you. “What are you..what are you doing to me? Thisss is a terrible thing to do to a..to anyone. Ananasss will get you for this! I thought you w-we..r..” you muttered as Millennial Tree stared you dead in the eyes with that smile. “Conserve your energy, now. I assure you I do this with only pure intentions. You see, I remember our conversation a few weeks ago. About how you aren’t a real dragon.” He said, as the early morning light began to break through the dark cove. “B-but I’m trying toooo...” You muttered. 

“Oh my dear, I know, that’s the problem.” He smiled as he patted you on the head.  
“Now, understand I just want to help you return to normal. Im sure you hate this, all of it. So I’ve come up with a solution. We’ll just erase this form of you forever. Now, when you come back you won’t remember anything. Isn’t that ideal?”  
“N-no, I like my life! I love living this way! I w-wanna spend every day as a dragon!” You panicked, frantically, fighting the restraints.  
“Don’t make this hard for us.” He said, a serious expression on his face. Wind Archer appeared out of nowhere, a drawn arrow pointed at your face.  
“I feel bad for you, you poor soul. Those dragons certainly are manipulative.” He said pityingly.  
“N-no you don’t..understannnd them..” you said before fainting, the last thing you saw a red blob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s the repeated cliffhangers for me 🙈


	11. In Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There can be a few nice moments...as a treat..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imagine if I had a chapter where there’s no drama  
> im not gonna do it but can you imagine

When you finally came to, your hands were freed and Pitaya stood in front, covering you. By now, the sun was fully up, and it appeared Wind Archer had his steely gaze set on Pitaya. The tense air crackled with storm clouds circling overhead. This was a dangerous situation you wanted to get out of ASAP. Your eyes met Pitaya’s for a few seconds and in them you could see your own weak, terrified form. 

“Get up and come help me fight, lossser. It’ssss your fault we’re in this situation.” The red dragon growled. Wind Archer kept his eyes on Pitaya as you shakily brought yourself up to whisper to them. 

“I..I don’t know if I can..I feel super weak.” You muttered sleepily, using them as support. 

“Oh, I know. That’sss why we’re going to need just a little help from the sssky.” Pitaya smirked, glancing towards the ever darkening clouds above. “Nows the time to prove yourself worthy of being a dragon. Use those electric powers of yours, lil sib.” They said, as lightning started making itself known. Without further hesitation, Pitaya started fighting Wind Archer with all their might. Dazed and disoriented, you managed to draw out as much lightning as you could from the clouds. You felt yourself growing stronger than before, like you could do anything. 

You continued looking at yourself in disbelief until Pitaya snapped you out of it with the most ungrateful “holy hell come help me!” known to anyone. You rushed to Pitaya’s aid and managed to trap Wind Archer where he couldn’t fight either of you anymore. There was a sigh of relief and the two of you high fived. Before you could even confront him, the archer was but a pile of leaves being carried off by the wind. The storm clouds cleared up and you fell on Pitaya, suddenly dizzy and weak again. The red dragon didn’t react or even look at you, even when you were being purposely annoying. 

“Ssso..Why were you out here dummy?” You asked, trying to get at least some form of answer out of them. They just picked you up and started flying back to your shared home with Ananas. You sighed and focused on other things, like the cute farm type town you had passed over, or the morning sun on the blue waves, or even the giant icy tower off in the distance. You did a double take at that last one, not mentioning anything so you could explore there yourself later. 

After a bit longer, you found yourself outside of Ananas’ house. You thanked Pitaya who still said nothing, and you waited until they were about to take off to pull them back down. 

“Whats your deal? You’re just gonna go back to being like this? You won’t even talk to me normally anymore because we had a little falling out? What about what happened back _there_ huh? Does my help mean nothing to you?” You spat out, trying to hold back tears that weren’t supposed to be there in the first place. Why were you even crying? 

Pitaya finally looked down at you and you could once again, see your reflection in their eyes. They let out a sigh before responding. “In your eyessss, maybe it appeared that way. I didn’t need your help, truth be told. Why don’t you jusssst let _go_ of me already. Maybe learning to _let thingssss go_ would help you.” They snarled, yanking theirselves free. You could only stand there, emotions spiraling out of control as they took off yet again. You turned around, wiping the already falling tears from your eyes as you returned inside only to be greeted by Ananas. 

“Well, well, well. Welcome back, my- oh my, dear, what happened?” Ananas pondered, caring actually present in their voice. They immediately grabbed you in a hug, where you couldn’t help but cry even harder, getting your yucky snot and tears everywhere. Ananas did their best to calm you down until you were ready to talk. “I’m sorry for leaving, I won’t d-do it again..” you looked up at them miserably, as they wiped the tears away and patted your head to calm you down. Ananas shook their head and smiled at you. “If that’s what this is about, I don’t care. What’s important is that you’re alright.” 

You shook your head remorsefully. “Pitaya won’t t-talk to me anymore and I just feel like I’ve lost my only f-friend!” You mumbled as more tears started their descent. “All because of that stupid fight. And-and I almost could’ve gotten killed because I went out to t-try and fix what I did. Please forgive m-m-me!” You sobbed into their chest harder as they said nothing and only tried to calm you down. 

“Honestly things would’ve been b-better if we had just never met.” You lamented, your entire weight relaxing. Ananas grabbed your face and looked you dead in the eyes, a serious expression forming. “ _Don’t_ say that. I know that none of this has been pleasant, but I can at least promise you’ve made a positive effect on my life. Pitaya just isn’t that open, give it time. You guys will be annoying the hell out of me any day now.” They finished by giving you little kisses all over your face, causing you to laugh a little bit. 

“I’m just glad you’re home safe. I love you so, so much, you know.” They said, not letting you out of their grasp. “Come on, surely you have something to talk about.” They said, throwing you over their shoulder as they brought you to the kitchen to eat breakfast. 

In just a little under an hour, the morning sun was blazing through the windows and you had a plate of nearly untouched waffles covered in syrup sitting in front of you. You didn’t feel hungry, and yet you played with your food as you felt their eyes trained onto you. Eventually you gazed up at Ananas and sighed. “You knew I would try to fix this myself didn’t you?” Ananas nodded slowly, waiting for the next question. “So I’m guessing you went out of your way to set that up huh? With Pitaya saving me and all.”

“Well, that part was unplanned. I was supposed to do it but you got up a little sooner than expected. Oopsies..?” They laughed sheepishly.  
  


You brushed off that last comment and leaned across the table, two more questions lingering in your throat. “I uhm...So Pitaya’s not mad at me actually?” You asked, cringing at the desperation in your voice. Ananas patted your hand sympathetically and shook their head. You gulped embarrassed, sitting back down. 

Your eyes brightened and you stared at Ananas softly. The two of you certainly had been through a lot together. It seemed appropriate to ask at this point, to at least confirm or deny what happened in your dream. “A-Ananas? You said you loved me right? So do you think that we could maybe, like, I dunno...maybe we could get ma-married?” you finished “A-and I know you said dragons don’t believe in all that but it would just really mean a lot to me!” you finished, standing up, making eye contact with pineapplemur who slinked around your legs now. “That’s awfully cute of you to still want that so bad. Maybe I’ll consider it for your benefit?” They smiled warmly, standing up and holding out a hand to you which you gladly accepted. It had been a while since you felt their hands, and how refreshing it was. 

“For now, how about we take a walk? There’s surely a lot more things on your mind, and I’m sure you need something relaxing.” They smirked. You nodded and the two of you stepped outside, just to have a stress free day for the first time in who knows how long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha I present to you a fragment of slice of life it will never happen again


	12. Ordinary Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little confrontation goes a very long way if both parties are willing to commit, wouldn't you think so?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this ones a bit shorter ahsjaksslsksm

You were walking hand in hand with Ananas as you listened to everything they blathered on about. This certainly wasn’t what you were expecting when it was said you had ‘much to discuss’. It’s not as if you hated it though, hearing Ananas talk without being condescending was enough for you. You gripped their hand tighter as the two of you walked past one of the islands many cascading waterfalls, getting lost in the sounds and sensations of this island. You never wanted to leave this place, it was starting to feel like home. Eventually, Ananas stopped talking, and it was just the sounds of nature accompanying the both of you.

Eventually you decided to finally question Ananas. You tugged on their hand to bring them to a stop, and they looked down at you, an uncharacteristic smile on their face and the sun shining down on them. It’d be a picture perfect scene if it didn’t make you feel uneasy. Ananas had been way too nice as of late, it started to feel forced. Or maybe they genuinely had changed? Maybe they weren’t the type to spit on you and kill you, to your slight disappointment. Well, better to ask now than to stand here like a fool. 

  


“How come you’re being so nice to me? Usually you’re the type to make me bow until I’m on my knees because I said something remotely disrespectful.” You asked, joking a bit. “Oh I’m still very much that type of dragon, don’t get me wrong,” they chuckled, stroking your face affectionately. “However, as to why I’m being nice to you have you considered that maybe you’re just worthy of my respect and affection?” They purred, taking your other hand in theirs and spinning you around gently until you were in their arms, where you could see those gorgeous golden eyes that captivated you once more. That damn stare had some mystifying power to it, because it managed to make you feel weak every single time. 

  


“F-Flattery gets you nowhere. What’re you hiding from me?” You snarled, trying to hold your ground. Ananas scowled and let go of you, returning to their usual self. “Well, what do you want to know? I should’ve known you’d be unsatisfied knowing next to nothing.” The yellow dragon said, settling down on a rock.  
“I want to know everything, don’t hold back.” You said, crossing your arms trying to quell the feeling of excitement mixed with anxiousness that tingled deep within you.  
“Okay, how about we start like this. I’d say ever since you made your transformation, maybe even before, dragons across this world have been awakened. Most people don’t exactly like that, and I mean, who would? Giant ravaging beasts who could destroy anything they wanted to with little to no opposition. And now you’re included in that.” They paused as you joined them on the rock.  
“ I’m a ravaging beast?” You queried, swishing your tail casually.  
“Yes?? You expected me to say something different? Weird ass...” Ananas scoffed, poking you on the nose. You flinched and scoffed right back at them as they continued.  
“Anyways, people are very much against the idea of dragons even living, regardless of if we’re peaceful or not . So as time goes on, we’ll find ourselves in more situations like that. That’s why I don’t want you going out on your own just yet.” They finished, patting you on the head. You grimaced and somewhat sighed to yourself. You figured it’d have something to do with that, and yet hearing it was still earth shattering. 

You leaned into Ananas who gladly held you close while you processed everything. “Did I mention that you have to worry about other dragons too? They don’t exactly think you’re worthy of being a dragon, much less one with powers such as mine solely because they don’t think you’d be able to hurt even a single soul. You’ve already in the running for most hated, and you don’t even have much of a reputation! Isn’t that something?” Ananas fake laughed. You groaned and sunk out of Ananas’ grasp. And here you were thinking it’d be a good idea asking even _one_ question. 


	13. A Sight For Sore Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader goes out on their own to enjoy the world for their self without any interruption and meets a new friend.

It had been roughly 3 months since you or Ananas had heard of Pitaya or your life was in danger, and you had been making regular nightly visits to that sharp icy tower you saw all those months ago. 

You had been making repeated nightly visits to said tower without fail ever since. No one was ever there, leaving this beautiful ice castle all to yourself, a home away from home. However, tonight was different. Tonight, the moon was brighter and bigger than ever, and it seemed to almost touch the highest point of the tower. As you made your way to the tower, someone rose out of the water and onto the ice. You landed a fair distance behind them before slide-running across the ice to catch up to them. “E-Excuse me! Are you by any chance *the* Sea Fairy? Protector of the oceans and it’s treasures? It’s an honor to meet you!” You grinned, your wings flapping happily as you held out a hand to the goddess. She looked taken aback, but after a moment she smiled warmly, shaking your hand.  
  
“May I ask how you know me? I’ve never seen you before, usually this place is secluded. May it be fate that brought us here tonight..” She concluded, gazing up at the moon.  
  
“I used to hear about you all the time when I was a kid! I heard every tale about you, I read every bit of information about you, I dreamed about one day meeting you and it’s finally happening! Maybe fate really brought us together tonight... I never thought I’d have the chance to meet my idol, never in a million years..” You finished breathlessly, as a slight blush dawned on her features.  
  
“Oh, having someone out there who cares of me..it warms my heart greatly. Thank you.” She smiled, curtsying ever so lightly.

You curtsied back and she sighed sadly, as the moon now hid itself behind clouds.  
  
“Oh, I’m distracting you aren’t I? I should go.” You gestured behind you, already lifting off from the ground Sea Fairy shook her head. “I’m sure your warm heart will keep me motivated tonight. Please accompany me to the top of the tower, if you’d like.” She bowed, awaiting your response. Containing your childish glee, you landed back down next to her and grabbed her hand. Without further hesitation, the two of you spent the rest of the night climbing the tower to see the moon. When you finally reached the uppermost floor, Sea Fairy gazed up at the moon and reached out for it, yet she couldn’t quite reach it. You only watched in silence until you nodded off as she tried again and again, when the moon was at its clearest, until the sun came up and she was crouched down, staring at the magnificent waters that glistened below you. You yawned and crawled over to her. 

  
  


“My oh my, you look ssso miserable. What’sss wrong?” You asked, the worry showing in your voice.  
  
“I couldn’t reach it. I’ve been yearning for so many years and I still couldn’t reach it. This was as close as it could get, and I still couldn’t reach it. I’m afraid I’m beginning to lose hope..” She lamented, closing her eyes and sighing.  
  
“There’s other nights I’d be happy to accompany you on, don’t lose hope! I’ll do anything in my power to make sure you meet the moon, and that’s a promise!” You said, holding a hand to your chest.  
  
“Oh..Thank you.” She answered simply, sitting there for a minute to gather her thoughts before the two of you started to head back down. Before you knew it, you watched her slip back into the water, hopefully coming back. 

  


This continued on for several weeks until one day, she stopped coming. And suddenly, coming to the tower alone didn’t pique your interest anymore. Going out to explore didn’t even get you a little excited. All you did was stay home, and even Ananas was barely around, besides from late at night into the early morning. Life truly was lonelier than ever before. Ananas eventually noticed your extended sulking one night long after you should’ve been asleep, but you were instead on the balcony, letting cold night air slap you in the face. The yellow dragon came up from behind you before spinning you around and dipping you into a kiss, bringing that fleeting sense of joy back momentarily. A small smile stayed on your face for a moment before returning to a frown as tears started forming at the corners of your eyes. Damn it, that just had to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. You immediately started sniffling and crying as Ananas held you tightly, allowing you to calm down before speaking. 

  


“What’s wrong my beloved? Why so blue all the time? It wasn’t something I did, was it?” The yellow dragon asked, holding you by the shoulders. “No, you’re just who I needed to see. It’s just- I feel so terribly alone, as if everyone’s left me.” You finished, more tears pooling in the corners of your eyes.  
  
“Honey, you know everyone here loves you- even if we’re not around.” They said softly, guiding you into a dance under the stars. You clumsily matched their steps as you continued.  
  
“I know, it’s just like no ones around to do anything with anymore. Everything’s just so heavy lately and I wish I had someone who’s willing to make things more lively, even if for a moment. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve been perfect-”  
  
“I’m always perfect.” They interjected, smirking at you cockily.  
  
You giggled softly before continuing. “Far from it, but I like you this way honestly. Anyways, everything’s been lovely, I guess it just feels a little boring without-” 

  
  


“Pitaya. You miss that miserable red wyrm don’t you? Don’t lie to me, I can see it in your eyes.” They said, all warmth exiting their voice as they let go of you gently. You stumbled and almost tripped, leaning against the wall for support.  
  
“I know what desire looks like. Pitaya was the closest thing you had to a sibling, a friend, weren’t they? Why don’t you go talk to them and get this fallout over with? I can’t stand to see the subject of my enamor be wracked with sorrow and misery from sunrise to sunset. It makes me miserable as well.”  
  
“I will go see them. Thank you, darling.” You said, preparing to leave already before Ananas grabbed you out of the air.  
  
“Ah ah ah, I meant tomorrow. I have to deal with you now for not telling me how you felt sooner. To my room, _immediately_.” They muttered, pushing you back inside for the night. 


	14. Not Friendly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Never in my life would I think to encounter someone assss..Desperate, should I sssay? Or perhapsss missserable assss others claim I am.”
> 
> “So you admit you’re miserable?”
> 
> “What? No, you missssed the entire point, moron.”

You awoke late the next morning to see Ananas deep into sleep and at peace for once. What should’ve been an unnerving sight left you feeling rather pleased and happy, as if something good would happen today. You rolled over and gently shook the dragon until they hissed at you to stop. 

“Good afternoon sssleepyhead,” You dragged out, hoping to annoy them further. They shoved a hand over your mouth, preventing you from speaking. “As if the weakling theirself woke up early. What the hell do you want? Don’t answer that seriously.” They groaned, removing the hand and pretending to sleep.  
“I’m going to see Pitaya today. At least I think so, if they’d like to see me.” You said, dejectedly. Ananas kicked you out of bed and covered their head with a pillow.  
“Don’t talk about that weirdo around me. Just get the hell out and go make up before I crush you like a bug.” They muttered, ignoring you entirely.  
You shrugged it off and gave them a quick kiss on the cheek before dashing outside and journeying to the dragons valley. 

Unsurprisingly, the gates were locked. Hopefully this wouldn’t be a waste of time and the red dragon would still be at home, not off doing crazy things. Who knows? Tensions had been at an all time high and things had gotten rockier even with all the time you two were separate. It’s not like you couldn’t tell. You knew when things were still touchy and yet here you were, unceremoniously slipping over the gates of hell on earth just for a chance to talk to your ‘best friend.’ Desperate times call for desperate measures, you supposed. 

Come to think of it, this place was unusually quiet. You weren’t expecting the hum of others going about their day or anything, but hearing the roar of the flames was more creepy than soothing. Not to mention how mind-numbingly hot it was. And Pitaya said it was cooling down? Yeah, you’d hate to be here when it was at its peak.  
After what seemed like ages, you plopped down on the throne, right in the middle of Pitaya’s extravagantly decorated entrance. How interesting that they choose similar design choices and were almost the same, yet hated each other dearly. Whatever, not like this dragons rivalry business was the most important thing in the world. 

As you slouched deep into the seat, preparing to sleep, you heard the telltale heavy footfalls of a certain armored dragon approach and stop right beside you. You didn’t move at all and greeted pitaya the only way you knew how.  
“Are you ready to talk now, you raging animal? I’m sure we’ve lots to discuss.”

Pitaya scowled and cast their glare down, locking the two of you into a death stare, neither wanting to back out. Gaze unfaltering, the dragon finally spoke.  
“How ridiculoussss of you to call me a ‘raging animal’ when you’ve broken into _myyyy_ living ssspace. I don’t even know who you are.”  
“It’s been a while, not a million years. You know exactly who I am, dear sssibling.”  
“As if. The real you would’ve died from your own ssstupidity. You aren’t the brightest one out there, you know.”  
“As if your minuscule walnut brain was any bigger. Listen, I didn’t come here to insult you and play childish games like these with you until the sun goes down-”  
“We can sssstop twenty minutesss before and you can be on your merry way home before bedtime.” The red dragon cackled, pulling you out of their seat and settling in it their self. 

“Please just hear me out, Pitaya. I didn’t come here to insult you or anything. I just flew miles to reconcile with you.” You sighed, settling down onto the floor. Pitaya burst into laughter, disregarding your pleas almost entirely. “What’s so funny?”  
“I jussst find it absssolutely RICH that amidst thossse grueling torturoussss monthssss you came crawling back to _me_. Didn’t I sssay _not_ to do that? My oh my, you might be more densssse than I.” 

__

__

You pouted and crossed your arms, waiting for them to at least pause in their laughter so you could speak.  
“You’re certainly not friendly. And here I was thinking I’d be welcomed back by whatever shred of kindness is left in you.” The red dragon stopped and returned to their cocky state.  
“I never claimed to be ‘friendly’. What you sssaw in me is what _you_ wanted to sssee. Ssssorry you just had to find out thisss way, poor thing!” They mocked you, getting up just to pat you on the head aggressively.  
“Whatever. Look, can you just come back already? I miss having you to hang out with. Ananas can’t stand my moping. I just...I need someone to be around, so can we put this all behind us?” You asked, standing up and extending a hand to the beast.

They snickered and pushed your hand away pityingly before bending down to your level.  
“How do I put thisss? Never in my _life_ would I think to encounter sssomeone assss...Desssperate ssshould I sssay? Or perhapsss missserable assss others claim I am.”  
You crossed your arms and smirked at them.  
“So you admit you’re miserable?”  
“What? No, you missssed the entire point, moron.” They hissed, standing back up.

“Whatever. Sounds to me like a certain someone is getting high and mighty. And here I was thinking you were better than Ananas..” You yawned, trying to play the reverse psychology card. Hopefully it worked because you were running out of options and Pitaya was not budging. They just held out their hand in front of your face, and you bunted it in response. Eventually they groaned and pulled their hand away.  
“You’re terrible, you know that? Begging for my forgiveness and getting it without ssssaying anything of value, that just isn’t supposed to work. I truly wonder how you’ve gotten thissss far..”  
“Being friendly makes me terrible?” You questioned, staring up at them. “Yeah, a terrible dragon. Now go home already.” They said, pushing you towards the exit. “What? I can’t just come all this way and have you still be in here you miserable mole rat. Why do you look so tired? What’s been going on for you to stay away this long?” You stammered, forcing yourself heels into the ground so you’d be harder to move. “How nossssy. Now run along, your _lover_ awaitsss you.” They grimaced, picking you up by the waist and carrying you out while you flailed around like a feral cat. 

Much later, you returned home to find Ananas reading something in the comfort of the living room. You laid your head in their lap and they stroked your hair, much to your comfort. “Long day?” They chuckled, not looking up from their book. “Yeahhh...I just wish everything wasn’t so dramatic all the time. This was supposed to be a simple make-up and yet I feel like they still don’t forgive me. Like they’re hiding something from me.”  
“Don’t worry about it. Pitaya’s just strange like that. I’m sure they’re excited to even see you. Why don’t you get some rest hmm? We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” They said.  
You immediately sat up, accidentally butting heads with them. They growled and you winced a little bit. “Sorry..it’s just..you never told me I’d have to do stuff tomorrowwww!” You whined, flopping back down. They exhaled, clearly vexed before continuing.  
“Well, I _would’ve_ told you before but it’s always ‘Pitaya this’ and ‘Pitaya that’. Almost every single thing you’ve done or said has been so distant.” they said, closing the book before pinning you down to the couch. It was true, the two of you were growing a bit distant with everything going on right now. They were close enough for you to hear their heart beating rapidly and feel the heat coming off of them. Your heart was practically beating out of your chest at this point with all the tension in the air. 

You took a deep breath and asked the ditziest question you could in the moment.  
“Are you...yknow...mad at me? Like right now?” Ananas’ expression changed to a mix of anger and confusion, but they decided to answer by giving you a little kiss. “..A little. Now go to bed. I don’t want to have to shake you awake tomorrow.” They said, letting go of you. You kissed them goodnight and left to get a good nights sleep for the first time in a while.


	15. Altered Perception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting between the sacred knights under Millenial Tree’s order. Let’s see how that pans out.

A warm gust of air flowed through the brightly lit Millennial Temple as six of the kingdoms’ finest kneeled in respect to The Millennial Tree and his faithful guardian. White Choco stood up fully, gazing up at the tree in silence before swallowing her pride. 

“Forgive me if this is out of line sir, but I thought you didn’t need our help, with your very clearly capable guardian constantly bending to your will.”  
Millennial Tree hummed as he opened his eyes slowly, casting an empty stare at the blazing knight.  
“It is out of line for you to speak on matters such as this. I simply asked for your direct assistance, did I not?” The tree chided, closing his eyes once more, a serene expression overtaking his features.  
“Very well then. Would it be more proper for me to ask what your plans are?”  
The old tree smirked before telling his plans.  
“I want you to get rid of those dragons. All of them. Every single last one you can find? Kill them. The world has no need for dragons anymore. Never has and never will.”  
Milk and Yam looked at each other for a brief moment before Yam groaned. 

“I’d rather not kill some dragons, particularly ones I may be acquainted with..” he trailed, looking to anyone else for support. They all averted their gazes when Yam turned to them, leaving him to Millennial Tree and Wind Archer.  
“It’s a simple matter that was never up for debate. Its either compliance or death. Don’t forget, you are all so easily replaceable.” He smugly stated. An uncomfortable silence smothered everyone in the room as Dark Choco nodded solemnly.  
“The task has been made clear, my lord. I will see it through to its completion.” They said, kneeling down once more. Milk followed their idol blindly, ignoring Yam completely.  
Pistachio and White Choco followed suit, with a unified, “Understood, oh great one.” Raspberry Mousse seemed to ponder it for a minute before kneeling as well.  
“In the name of House Raspberry and this temple, I will not fail you.” He said, leaving Yam on his own, looking down at all his pushover companions. 

“Compliance or death Mr. Yam? Time is ticking..” Wind Archer chimed in.  
Yam sighed and took a knee in silence, much to the tree’s approval. Millennial turned his back to them all as he began his exit.  
“I trust you all to treat this mission with urgency. The sooner this is a thing of the past, the better.” He chuckled, leaving them all standing around in drop-dead silence. 

  
“Hey, hey idiot. Wake up. I told you that we’d be be busy today, did I not?” Ananas said, jostling you awake. You groggily opened your eyes and sat up, trying to rub the sleep out of your eyes. When everything was only mildly blurry, you noticed it was still dark out.  
“Ehh...Ananas? It’sss..it’s like 3 AM! Why are we up so earlyyy...” You yawned, stretching a bit.  
“You’ve got a job to do. Now hurry along and get ready! I’ll be waiting, I expect to see you outside in 20 minutes.”  
You immediately laid back down and threw a pillow over your face, groaning in despair. Could you have one normal day for once in your life? You didn’t exactly sign up for a nonstop, heart-pounding, dangerous lifestyle and yet here you were, getting all that and more. This sure sucked sometimes. You closed your eyes, intending to only rest for a minute when you quickly felt yourself fall back into a deep sleep, and into a dream. 

“So, we meet again. Pleasure to finally meet you in a non-aggressive setting.” The tree said, turning towards you and smiling.  
You stared at him angrily, fear bubbling inside you.  
“Be not afraid, young one. Here, come sit with me. Perhaps you want something to drink?” He said, as two chairs and a small table appeared out of thin air. You cautiously sat down across from him as he poured you some tea.  
“I suppose I should’ve asked you if you were a tea person. I sort of assumed it anyways, you’ll need it.”  
“How’d you know? I-”  
“I know everything.” He said calmly, drinking his tea.  
You stared into your drink cautiously before just drinking it. It was surprisingly warm for being a figment of imagination.  
“So...How are you in my dreams? You must be a product of my psyche.” You said, sitting on the edge of your seat. Imagination or not, this was weird and made you feel cold. 

“Oh, no. I’m very much real. You’re real as well. Only difference is I’m physically here.”  
“You’re living rent free in my head?” You giggled, trying to dispel your uneasiness.  
The tree laughed along with you before drinking from his cup once more.  
“Enough chit-chat. I’ve come to present you an ultimatum.”  
Your eyes opened fully, and you listened in attentively. Nothing good ever came out of an ultimatum.  
“Listen up, because this is serious. You’re a dragon now right? I’m sure you’ve noticed that’s caused a multitude of problems. There are things happening now that shouldn’t be happening. I’m not saying that they’re linked to you, but come on now. Ever since your mortal self got roped into these things, it’s gotten much worse.”  
You only gulped and nodded, getting more tense with each second. “So here’s what I’m offering. Either you can just give yourself up easily, and we restore you to your previous form, before handling the other dragons and ending this nightmare. Or, I can send my finest after you, and have them do exactly what I told them to. Here’s a hint, it’s not going to be nice.” He chuckled to himself as your pupils dilated in terror.  
“What do you..I can’t..I don’t have a previous form anymore..And I can’t just..Ananas and..”  
“I see you’re confused. Let me make it more clear to you; If you give yourself up easily, we’ll just port you over to a new vessel. Now, it won’t be exactly you, you’ll be starting from square one. You won’t remember who you were, or anything you’ve experienced prior to being..reborn, shall we say? But don’t worry! I’ll be happy to guide you, and have you become a subservient follower of mine. I can help you achieve true inner peace!” 

“I already know peace! Im happy here, can’t you tell?”  
“Your mind says otherwise.”  
You immediately shot up, reaching for Millennial Tree while knocking over your cup. Halfway through, you felt yourself freeze up. You couldn’t do anything to him if you tried.  
“Hmm. I knew you’d react this way. You dragons are all so feral. Allow me to present the second option.” He said, narrowing his eyes and standing up.  
“I send my loyal knights to get rid of all of you, once and for all.” He said curtly, making a beheading motion. “You want to act like a dragon so bad, then you’ll die like one.” He spat out, in a far colder tone than usual. It felt like your heart fell to your feet in an instant, as you fell out of your frozen state and back into your chair, shaking.  
“Is that perfectly clear? Good. I’ll give you a week to think on it. See you soon.”  
“I...! H-how could you j-just- wait!”  
“I’m afraid we have no more time. Your dear lover is calling you. You should go spend what little time you have left with them. I trust you to make the right decision.” 

You jolted awake for the second time, panting and in tears. Ananas immediately switched from their angry stance to sitting next to you, desperately trying to soothe you.  
“Oh, there there. What happened? Care to tell me what’s wrong?”  
You sniffled and kept hiccuping mid sentence.  
“I-I-I-I...Its n-nothing..j-just a bad dr-d-d-dream. A m-mere nightma-re. I’ll b-be okay.”  
Ananas sighed and held you close, rocking you in their arms gently. “You’re lying to me. I can tell. But I won’t prod you further.” They whispered, humming and soothing you until you were breathing steadily and your tears had dried.  
“Now come on. I’ve got to take you with me today.” They scooped you up and flew out into the early morning.  
“Hmm...Why are we even up so early...?”  
“I need to show you how to take care of my islands, so I’m gonna make you watch what I do today.”  
“But no ones up this early...what are we protecting it from? And besides, I don’t need to. It’s your island.”  
Ananas frowned and sighed.  
“You never know, unfortunately. And besides, this is the easiest way for us to spend a little more time together.”  
“In your eyes it is..” you mumbled, crossing your arms.  
The two of you ended up resting on one of the highest peaks to watch the sun rise. You leaned against them, the sleep still lingering inside you. “I already know what the sun looks like, Ananas. Don’t tell me you do this daiiillllyyy...” you groaned, sprawling out in their lap.  
Ananas laughed and held one of your hands.  
“Of course I do. It clears my mind every day, even days I feel miserable. Through everything, I know that being alive to witness this is a grand thing in itself.”  
You thought about this yourself before turning to the horizon. They were right. How many more fleeting moments like this would you have? Would you remember them? Would they even matter in the grand scheme of things?  
“So, is your mind clear? I noticed you’re more miserable and stressed lately.” They asked, looking at the stars that speckled the night sky. 

“I..I suppose. It’s really that noticeable?”  
“Of course. When you have to protect everyone and everything on your island, you notice when something’s off. It’s especially noticeable in things you share an emotional bond with, you know.”  
“I didn’t even notice..” you said, relaxing as you watched the sun peek from behind the murky sky. Your eyes slowly glazed over as hues of pink and orange overtook the gloomy darkness.  
Birds started singing their sweet melody as you laid across your lover, a serene feeling entering your body.  
“Ananas? I love you.”  
“I know. I have that kind of effect on-”  
You pulled yourself up to them and kissed them deeply on the mouth, their eyes widening in shock. You certainly were never the type to initiate anything, but they kissed you back until you pulled away, tears streaming down your face. Ananas immediately started wiping them from your face.  
“Why are you..did I do something?”  
“No..no I’m just so happy I can spend time with you..”  
“Adorable...I’m glad we could spend time together as well.”  
“I don’t think you understand just how happy I am..” you sniffled, clinging onto them tightly.  
“Promise me..that we can stay like this forever? Just us?”  
“You know just as well as I do that I can’t promise that. In fact, I brought you here not only to spend time with me, but to tell you something important. And listen carefully, because all our lives depend on it.” Ananas said, looking right into your wide, tearful eyes. “Im so sorry for keeping this from you for so long. I just wanted to see you happy. Now I know I was just putting you in more and more danger.”  
“What do you..Ananas what? What have you been keeping from me?”  
Ananas grimaced and settled their hands on your shoulders.  
“Please, just listen...”


	16. Up The Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shocking information leads to drastic decisions and an encounter with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been six months. Oh my god.

You looked into Ananas’s eyes once more, dread overtaking you. They weren’t saying anything you hadn’t known before, it was evident that you had several powerful people who wanted you gone or dead, whichever was easier. No, the shock came from when they revealed this new bit of info to you. That this form wasn’t sustainable. Ever since that little life threatening encounter with Millennial, something hadn’t been quite alright. Those ‘vines’ as you had known them were apparently imbued with some kind of magic that not only slowly ate away at your powers but your life as well. You had assumed such power came at a price, but not one so drastic. Certainly there was a way to reverse this? This wasn’t right. None of this was fair. You never ever asked for this, you just wanted to have a good time and live with your found family so to speak. But fate had other plans. Fate ALWAYS had other plans.

And yet you felt emotionless. Everything had subsided, save for the small fizzle of electricity that coursed through you almost consistently. You figured you were going to die by some means quite a while ago. Whether it be by someone’s hands or whatever ate away at you at this very moment, you wouldn’t exist for much longer. Lest you found a way to fix this all. Once it had all set in, you sighed and nodded.  
  
“Ah...Well I figured such a thing would happen. Not too sure how you figured that out, but at least I didn’t have to tell you myself.” You chuckled emptily, taking your lovers wrists, your expression being overtaken by a smile.

“But! For what it’s worth, that’s not something I’m worried about at the moment. I’m more worried about you waking me up at the crack of dawn to supposedly help this island. We’re here, aren’t we? Let’s get moving!” You giggled, laughing as you lied through your cheerful expression. Worry consumed you now, knowing that you had a timer looming over you. Tomorrow wasn’t even guaranteed at this point, let alone tonight. Just how much longer would it take before you were nothing but a memory?   
  
Ananas exhaled slowly and closes their eyes in thought for a minute before agreeing. The two of you spent the rest of your day attending to one of the many tasks this tiny spit of land apparently needed. Throughout it all, you tried to suppress your thoughts, instead focusing on how wonderful everything around you was. Knowing that you were still mortal at your very core left you distraught. Now was the time to act irrationally. Everything seemed so meaningless and fleeting now. 

Some time later, you found yourself back home, preparing dinner with Ananas attempting to assist you. You diligently julienned numerous vegetables before sliding them over to Ananas, who threw them into the pot. They were saying something to you now, but all you could hear was a dull buzz as you started cubing peppers. However, your hand slipped, leaving you with a gash on your finger and snapping you back to reality. You internally cursed at yourself for making such a careless mistake, letting out a hiss as you ran your hand under water. Ananas came over and wordlessly patched up your wound, before offering to take over the cutting. You agreed and began focusing on the actual cooking part. And thank goodness for that.   
  
You loved them with all your heart, but Ananas could not cook. One taste of what you had assigned them to do told you that. Did they understand what minor seasoning meant? There was almost no flavor to this. And another taste revealed that parts of this dish were still very much raw. You glared daggers at Ananas as they shrugged sheepishly. No matter. You’d make this perfect. It had to be perfect. How else could you communicate your love and appreciation for them? How else could you leave a lasting mark? Thoughts swirled inside your head as you held up a spoon to let them taste. You awaited patiently for them to tell you how it tasted.   
  
“This is...wow this tastes wonderrrful! How’d you-” They began before you cut them off. 

“That means it’s decent at best. God...Sometimes it’s a blessing to have someone with a less refined pallet than mine.” You concluded, a small smile crossing your features. Ananas looked insulted and lifted you up, sweeping you into an affectionate crush. You couldn’t help but laugh.   
  
“Relaxxxx idiot. I meant it in an endearing way. Where would I be without my taste tesssster!” You sighed, hugging them once they finally released you. They chuckled, pushing the last of the vegetables to you before going to wash dishes. Of course, they weren’t perfectly cubed, but love and effort had clearly gone into it. You’d miss moments like these, if you survived and could even remember them at that point. In a little under an hour, the two of you were eating and having a good time. It was as if nothing was wrong at that very moment, as if this was the life you were supposed to live.   
You slowly finished the last of your food before Ananas announced that they were heading to bed. Perfect. You’d made sure that they were sleeping before washing dishes. Tonight was perfect. That icy tower looked over all, and the moon had returned. If you started now, you could make it to the tower and hopefully intercept Sea Fairy once more.   
  
It took quite a bit out of you, but you found yourself at the base of the Tower of Frozen Waves just as the moon began its rise. Fortunately, you hadn’t come all this way for nothing either, as Sea Fairy rose from the waves and stepped towards you.   
  
“Hello, old friend.” You spoke, a smile beginning to overtake your features. She smiled back at you, and the two of you began to ascend the tower as you had done so many times before. As you reaches the top, you collapsed on your knees, gasping for breath. What should’ve been an easy task had become so arduous as a result of all you’ve been through. You watched her reach again and again, getting more and more panicked as she tried to reach the moon before it could align with the topmost spire of the tower. 

You felt sorrow for your friend, and using what little strength you had left, you finally pushed her to reach the moon just as the spire and the planet aligned. A celestial glow emitted as you floated back down to the roof, watching your friend become absorbed in it. Amazement occupied your eyes at the moment, as you couldn’t even muster any words.   
  
“Thank you...” She began, emerging from the light, looking noticeably more menacing than before. That amazement quickly left your features and turned into horror. No. No, what had you _done_?!   
  
“Thank you for being so _stupid._ ” She sneered, pointing her sword-turned-trident down at you as the tower shook beneath you.


	17. Tidal Terror

The tower gradually began to disappear under the monstrous waves. You quickly stood up, trying to avoid the freezing depths below you and stay close to Sea Fairy. She cackled evilly as the pristine ice began to crack beneath you, not taking you with it as you were smart enough to throw yourself onto another part of the tower that had yet to start falling.  
  
“AHAHAHA! Again, I really can’t thank you enough! Now, thanks to you bringing me up here I’ve finally achieved what I couldn’t do for MONTHS!” She said, pausing her tirade to watch your expression grow petrified as an enormous wave now towered over the both of you, blocking out the moon almost completely and shrouding the surrounding area in darkness.  
  
“Ah, friend, we had an amazing journey together. All good things must come to an end. Now, PERISH!” She finished, pointing her trident directly at you once more, sending the wave crashing down at you. You barely had time to react before the full force of the wave knocked you off the ice, sending you backwards as you hit the back of your head first before plummeting into the icy darkness below you. Your vision blurred incredibly from the impact and the water, and a knife-like pain began invading your lungs. Struggling to breathe, you dragged yourself up to the surface and clung onto a slab of ice as you began violently throwing up the salty icewater that had just entered you uncontested. 

Everything hurt. You pulled yourself onto the floating chunk of ice to stop the numbing sensation that consumed your legs. Currently, your only hope would be using your powers, but seeing as you were wet, the most you could do was a small static shock, at best. Drawing yourself back up to your feet, your head throbbed intensely and everything seemed so distant. Perhaps that little knock of your head against an iceberg before you went under had did more damage than you thought. No matter, you could still fight.   
  
You had no trouble dodging the bigger waves after a while, seeing as all she did was send them directly towards you. She appeared to be getting tired. Good, maybe you could outlast her? Provided she didn’t have more energy than you, of course. Your own energy reserves were running low, you hadn’t exactly had an opportunity to rest and heal. Lost in your thoughts, you almost didn’t notice the wave behind you that completely took you out of the sky and sent you tumbling back down, but this time you were aware enough to dig your claws into the ice and pull yourself back over.   
  
You were absolutely in over your head at this point. Figuratively and literally speaking. Sea Fairy didn’t even give you time to breathe as she slammed another wave over your head, crushing you and effectively squeezing the last of your air out of your lungs. Your chest was practically on fire at this point as you struggled to take in what little bits of air you could get in the split second before another wave washed over you. You could feel your body going cold and limp as the edges of your vision slowly faded to black. Before you knew it, you were dropped on your back onto the ice again, Sea Fairy descending upon you rapidly. 

As much as you wanted to move, you couldn’t. You felt your blood run cold as she towered over you. Fury was the only discernible emotion you could gather from her features, and when she moved her mouth only a dull murmur could be heard on your end. Once more, you were staring at the sharp end of her trident, and your only thought was survival. You coughed up more ocean water as rain began pouring down, rousing the sea once more. A particular tingle seemed to be in the air as well; a thunderstorm was beginning. Perfect, if you could stall just long enough.   
  
“I tried to give you a peaceful way out. I thought if I just drowned you that’d be it. Why do you want to live so _bad_?” She asked, pausing as if genuinely considering hearing an answer from you. You slurred your words intentionally in an attempt to prolong this little encounter as you could now hear thunder crackling above you.   
  
She clicked her tongue in disapproval for a moment, pondering the situation.   
  
“Well then. Any last words?” She mocked, as the first rip of lightning appeared in the sky. A small smirk crossed your lips in that instant.   
  
“Shouldn’t have let your guard down.” You uttered, feeling your powers grow near fully replenished as the lightning struck next to Sea Fairy, stunning her for a bit. You grabbed the trident out of her hands and used it to knock her off balance. Quickly shooting up, you ignored your pain and began to fight her off with her own weapon, sending her back into the depths with a low sweep without much struggle. Seemed that the trident provided her with such ability to control the waves. In her place the crown remained, which you picked up and examined.   
It seemed to call out to you as you held it up in the moonlight. In the moonlight. Suddenly, it all made sense to you.   
  
“Dark moon magic.” You uttered to no one in particular, standing on the last floating chunk of ice.   
  
And you knew exactly who was responsible.


	18. Twice as Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit with Millennial doesn’t exactly go as planned and a crucial deal must be made

It wasn’t that you weren’t aware of magic being at play this whole time. It’s that you weren’t aware of what kind of magic was exactly setting these events in motion.  
  
Sure, you had _known_ that it was through magic that you were able to stay alive. You had _known_ that that same magic granted you your powers, hell even was responsible for you being able to do a myriad of things outside the scope of your previous ability.  
  
And that magic seemed to be the good kind. Ananas was good, at least you thought so. Naturally, that had reflected in you. In everything you’ve done since then. All of your actions had either been to help someone or for a greater good. Of course, sometimes you were misguided, but that didn’t take away from the fact that you were a good soul.  
  
As much as it disgusted you to think of it, that same sort of energy encompassed Millennial Tree. He, too, was inherently good, acting out of a desire to keep his world safe. He just had methods that didn’t align with his supposed morals.  
  
You understood his plans exactly, and you would’ve been more than happy to help!  
... _If they hadn’t included you and your friend’s deaths, that is._

Millennial Tree never did anything to ease your fears of this, either. Matter of fact, you were surprised he hadn’t acted on you directly, rather relying on minions and using his influence and other’s magical abilities to try and quietly make your presence nothing more than a blink in history.  
Now, as you soared through the frigid night air, you believed he’d be willing to hear you out. He hadn’t been willing to listen to your survival proposition the first time, but perhaps if you showed him that you could easily defeat one of his underlings, he’d consider hearing you out now. 

Millennial stood near the entrance to his temple, watching the moon slowly begin its descent towards the horizon. Hopefully Sea Fairy had finished you off by now, that’d make his job a hell of a lot easier. If not, the moon magic would soon wear off and he’d have to face you himself. He hated to admit it, but you still had a bit of strength even he couldn’t match. Those vines would’ve fulfilled their purpose had he not been interrupted.  
No matter. You were nothing but a small hurdle to him. And he had finally overcome you. Now, there was no opposition to him fulfilling his plan. A smile began to dawn on his face as he turned his back to the early morning sky to enter his temple.  
  
You finally made it to the City of the Millennial Tree, crown and trident in your hands. You knew he was here. He wouldn’t dare jeopardize any of his precious plans. Always the type to sit back and observe, as you had gathered from your previous encounters.  
You felt tense at that very moment as you entered, processing a billion thoughts at once to try and distract yourself from what exactly you’d gotten into. Naturally, your mind drifted to Ananas. Your beloved, the one you were absolutely dead-set on spending more time with once this all blew over. As you scaled a wall, you recalled a particularly sunny afternoon the two of you had spent trying to cool down.  
  
“Ananas, what exactly do you think of me? Be honest.” You had asked, swimming around them lazily in the islands waters. As if startled from their dreamlike state, they perked up from their pineapple inner tube to look at you for a brief minute. They hadn’t expected to hear such a question on a low energy day. What exactly did you mean by that, even?  
  
“What do I think of you? Hmmm... You’rrre my partnerrrr, of course!” They semi-answered, as if they hadn’t understood the question. You dove under the water for a bit, resurfacing in front of them, causing them to jump back in shock. You laughed slightly, a toothy smile now on your features. If the glare in their eyes was any evidence, they sure as hell were alert now.  
  
“I’m ecstatic to hear that, but I’m afraid it doesn’t make sense in the context of my question. At least, not to me. Care to elaborate?” You asked, mannerisms becoming calm once more. Ananas pondered this for a moment, focusing on you as you clung onto the inner tube, seemingly not a care in the world.  
“Well, you mean so much to me, obviously. I don’t think I have the right words, but you make me feel...morrrre complete, in a sense.” They began, kissing you on the forehead lightly.  
“Being around you is better than being able to watch the sun rise every day. Being around you is like soaking in the sun on a lovely day, or gazing at the moon every night before I fall asleep. Your presence is a gift, and I’m everrr so grateful to have you. I don’t know what I’d do if I everrrr lost my little rrray of sunshine.” They said, returning back to their relaxed position. You flushed slightly, suddenly feeling very shy at their words. You knew they loved you, but finally being able to hear them confess such a thing made you feel all sorts of fuzzy feelings inside. 

And now, here you stood at the entrance to the Millennial Temple, nothing but agony and fear coursing through you. Who knew that so much could happen in such a short time span? Had you been told that in your endeavors to spend the rest of your life with a dragon you’d end up facing against a god, you wouldn’t have believed it. And yet here you were, fear damn near paralyzing you. But you took a step.  
And another. And another.  
  
You continued walking, your steps echoing eerily until you could see Millennial Tree, turned away from you. He didn’t face you, under the notion that you were his faithful wind guardian. He addressed you as such before you threw down the trident and crown, kicking them into his field of view. At this point, he turned around and faced you wordlessly. You could smell the fear emanating off of him in this very moment. Yet you didn’t dare step too close, wary of him in your own sense.  
  
“Dark moon magic. Didn’t expect you to stoop ssso low as to use something like that. Coward.” You spat out, beginning to feel more confident. You could absolutely take him, right here and now. No one was here to interfere.  
“I can understand using your own magic, but really? You know, that’s a hefty price to pay just to try and wipe me out. And it didn’t even work. You turned one of my only friends against me, and it failed. Miserably.” You hissed, beginning to close the gap between you two. Eventually, you were close enough to grab him and hold him by the throat, all emotion void from your face as you watched him struggle to breathe.  
  
“Ack-! S-so you’re just going to kill me? H-here and now?” He wheezed, kicking and hyperventilating.  
You nodded without hesitation, a small smile breaking through your previous expression.  
  
“A-ah, so be i-it...just know that you’d be twice as b-bad as me..” He gurgled, struggling less and less.  
  
And he was right. Your blood ran cold as you realized what exactly he meant. You dropped him to the floor and looked at your hands. You didn’t _want_ to be a killer. You didn’t want to hurt anyone lest you had to. You could already feel the regret bubbling inside you from what you had almost done. It hurt. 

Not as much as the arrow that had managed to pierce your armor. The arrow that wasn’t there a moment ago, but now stuck out like a sore thumb, drenched in your blood. You dropped to your knees to process the intense, stomach churning agony that now consumed you.  
  
Millennial Tree looked into your devastated eyes menacingly before standing up.  
“Well done, Wind Archer.” He said, directing his gaze to behind you. You wheezed in pain as blood, _your_ blood began hitting the floor rhythmically. Millennial Tree chuckled and crouched back down to you, a smug grin spread across his face.   
  
“Aw, why so shocked? I did warn you quite some time ago. If I knew it’d be this easy, I would’ve done it looooong ago.” He cackled, before pulling the arrow out of you in the most painful way possible. You folded over, coughing up blood as you fought back tears. How could you have been so careless, so stupid? Now you were going to die for your mistakes, cold and in the presence of those who wanted you dead. The edges of your vision darkened drastically, limiting your view to Millennial Tree, who now held you in his arms and stroked your hair calmly, similar to how Ananas would do it. This was all wrong. It felt wrong, you wanted to kick and scream and fight, hell do anything! But you just couldn’t do it anymore.   
  
“I don’t...w-want to die..” you mumbled weakly, for what felt like the millionth time in your life.   
Millennial shushed you and hummed. “I know, my child. I know.” His blood-stained hand patted your head softly, as you felt the warmth of the sun as it slowly began to beam down on you. Dawn.   
  
“There is a way I can help you, my sweet, sweet child, but I’m afraid you’ll reject it. I don’t want to see you go, you know.” He murmured in that sickly sweet voice, brushing your hair out of the way.   
  
Desperate, you clung onto him, voice shaking.   
“Any...t-thing” you mustered, and his false smile returned once more.   
  
“You’ll do anything, my sweet?” He whispered, and you nodded, feeling your consciousness slip fast. You really didn’t have much time. He hummed and stroked your hair, winding down the time.   
  
“Good, good. You’re such a sweet child to me. I knew you’d come around. Let’s make a deal.” He chuckled darkly, patting your head.   
  
“Don’t worry about the nature of such a deal, you’ll only have me to thank later. However, if you must know, you work for _me_ now.” He finished, beginning to use his magic on you before you blacked out


	19. Reconciled Divinity (Pt. 1)

The first thing they noticed was that you weren’t in bed with them when they woke up. 

Then they noticed that you weren’t anywhere inside their home either. Not a cause for concern, you had been curious about the world around you from the get-go. Nothing inside indicated that you had been forcefully taken either. Everything was pristine and tucked away.  
  
So maybe you had just gotten up earlier than them. Surely you were just out attending to the island, it was dauntingly huge after all and it’d be best to get as early of a start as possible. You’d be back in their arms soon enough. 

Except that wasn’t the case. Dawn turned to dusk and you had yet to make your appearance. Ananas now felt worried, seeing as they had alternated between circling their island in search of you and waiting inside to see if you would duck back in. Their beloved pet could sense the tension in the air, and began rubbing up against their leg as if in an attempt to calm them. Ananas smiled softly and scooped them up, stroking their head gently. You’d be back tomorrow for certain! After all, this was your home, and you’d never abandon those you loved dearly. You probably just got really caught up in exploring. Content with that thought, Ananas headed to bed.  
  
It had been 5? No, 6 days since you had disappeared. Ananas had gone from worry to heartache to fear and finally to anger in all that time. The slightest thing set them off now. They hadn’t eaten, slept, or even been outside in all that time. Their living quarters had become a mess too, trinkets smashed left and right from one of their many violent outbursts that had occurred as of late.  
And now they lay in the floor of the kitchen, slowly feeling the day pass by. A gentle pitter-patter of paws on the floor aroused them from their dazed state as pineapplemur entered, pushing its food bowl towards Ananas before sitting there quietly. Ananas didn’t respond. 

Ananas groaned as they heard the scraping of the food bowl once more as their pet pushed it towards them once more to get their attention.  
“Just leave me aloneee. I’m not them.” They lamented, dragging a hand down their face.  
  
Except it didn’t stop there. It eventually nudged the food bowl against Ananas, mewling and squeaking needily. Ananas hissed and sat up angrily, glaring down at the small creature that didn’t seem to comprehend its owner’s anguish.  
  
“Will you just leave me BE?!” They hissed, shoving the bowl away and startling the small creature slightly. It crawled into their lap, rubbing up against them softly before settling into their arms. Ananas sighed, a grim smile settling on their features.  
  
“You miss them too, bud?” They asked, feeling tears beginning to well at the corners of their eyes. They held their furry companion close, beginning to weep uncontrollably. Hot tears streamed down their face, supplemented by harsh, choking gasps as they thought about you. They had no idea where you were, or even if you were still..  
  
Thinking about _that_ only made matters worse, now they were a full on mess, sobbing profusely into the lemur’s fur. It seemed to grieve with its owner, letting out wails and howls of distress. Even to the lemur, you had left an impact. 

After they had finished crying their eyes out, they finally managed to get up and feed their companion. Looking at the lemur, it was as if they could see you in it. In a strange way, it brought comfort to them.  
They ate with the lemur, keeping them nearby to try and soothe their nerves. They needed to come up with a plan, and fast. They needed to think. The possibility that you were still out there remained, and they wouldn’t stop looking until you were safe in their arms again.  
  
They’d have to speak with someone they hadn’t spoken to in a long time. If they’d be willing to speak, that is.  
  
They stepped outside for a moment, shielding their eyes from the blinding afternoon sun. Unbeknownst to them, however, a threat loomed far below, in the foliage of their island. 

“Parfaite.” White Choco murmured from her position, staring up at the dragon’s nest. She quietly motioned for her partners to come out. Milk emerged first, shield at the ready, followed by a disgruntled looking Raspberry Mousse.  
  
“Are you really adept enough to be our leader, la fillette?”  
This earned him a harsh ‘shhhh’ and a hand to the mouth from Milk as White Choco watched the dragon above them. They had just come out now, confirming the long journey here wouldn't be for naught. Perfect. Millennial wouldn't handle them returning in failure at all. White Choco trembled slightly as she stared down at her saber. She would do what had to be done. He’d be so, so proud of her that he might consider making her an apprentice. That he’d consider her worthy. She had so much potential, it was a shame it took her offering her services to those with questionable goals to be realized. No matter. All she had to do was carry out the orders she had received.   
  
Sunlight caught the tip of her saber, and she focused on it for a moment, snapping back to reality. Raspberry Mousse whined insufferably as Milk joined White Choco’s side, staring up at the dragon that now shielded itself from the sun’s harsh rays.   
  
“What’s our plan?” He asked quietly, gesturing upwards.   
White Choco backed up out of sight before crouching into the sands, using her sword to draw out a plan for attack. A series of arrows seemed to dictate their movement patterns so they could have the element of surprise.   
  
“...Seeing as they’ve been gone for a while and Ananas hasn’t made any journeys outside, today is likely the day. We wait until night falls and then...attaque!” She finished, stabbing her sword into the center of a crudely drawn mock-up of Ananas.   
  
“As for the other dragon, I have faith that our dear teammates will handle them quickly. And our faithful leader has already made quick work of that last brat. If they aren’t dead already, they only have so much time left. We’ve won, checkmate.” The fencer hummed, drawing an x over her plan. Milk marveled in silence at her plan as the wind kicked up before all was still again. Raspberry Mousse hissed in disapproval.   
  
“Mon amie,” He began, not a single ounce of friendliness in his voice 

“We missed our window to attack.” He spat out, pointing in the distance at the dragon that had taken to the skies.   
  
“Had you not wasted such precious time explaining a needlessly elaborate plan we could’ve been on our way back now, deed completed. Your kind are always so-” He stopped, cut off by the saber pointed at his throat.   
  
“Imbecile. There’s a reason why I’m the leader and you’re not. Had _you_ been the one Master Millennial assigned to lead us, we’d be dead ten times over.” She uttered, not lowering her weapon.   
  
“ _My kind_ are brilliant and practical. I’m not accepting this kind of behavior from the young _knight captain_. You sully the name of your own house, pathetic.” She finished, poking him with the sharp end of her sword. She recollected herself before turning around.   
  
“They will return later this evening. That is when we will attack. Comprende?” She asked, turning around to face the disheveled duelist that was seconds away from incurring her wrath. Without further word, he nodded in reluctant agreement. White Choco smiled in response.   
  
“Then disperse. I must attend to my own matters.” She spoke, waving them off dismissively.   
“My tree, as long as your order guides us, we will not fail you...”


End file.
